We present a dynamical model for photoassociation (PA) of ultracold
alkali atoms with ultracold alkali molecules in their rovibrational
ground state to create excited trimer molecules. The model involves the
long-range multipolar interactions between the atom and the molecule
calculated with the degenerate perturbation theory, connected to an
arbitrary short-range potential. The rate is found significantly smaller
than in the atom-atom case under typical MOT conditions, but is
promising in the nanokelvin domain. We design a proposal for an
experiment in the Mott insulator regime. Being a half-collision, PA
could offer the possibility to probe the complex short-range dynamics
along the lines developed by J. Bohn and coll.
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