Collisional stability of localized Yb(³P₂) atoms immersed in a Fermi sea of Li

We establish an experimental method for a detailed investigation of inelastic collisional properties between ytterbium (Yb) in the metastable ${}^3{P}_2$ state and ground state lithium (Li). By combining an optical lattice and a direct excitation to the ${}^3{P}_2$ state we achieve high selectivity on the collisional partners. Using this method we determine inelastic loss coefficients in collisions between ¹⁷⁴Yb(${}^3{P}_2$) with magnetic sublevels of m _J = 0 and −2 and ground state ⁶Li to be $(4.4\pm 0.3)\times {10}^{-11}{cm}^3{s}^{-1}$ and $(4.7\pm 0.8)\times {10}^{-11}{cm}^3{s}^{-1}$, respectively. Absence of spin changing processes in Yb(${}^3{P}_2$)–Li inelastic collisions at low magnetic fields is confirmed by inelastic loss measurements on the m _J = 0 state. We also demonstrate that our method allows us to look into loss processes in few-body systems separately. (paper)