Two dipolar atoms in a harmonic trap

Two identical dipolar atoms moving in a harmonic trap without an external magnetic field are investigated. Using the algebra of angular momentum we reduce the problem to a simple numerics. We show that the internal spin-spin interactions between the atoms couple to the orbital angular momentum causing an analogue of the Einstein-de Haas effect. We show a possibility of adiabatically pumping our system from the s-wave to the d-wave relative motion. The effective spin-orbit coupling occurs at anti-crossings of the energy levels. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2016 Published by the EPLA under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (CC BY). Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.