  Optical Feshbach resonances (OFRs) have generated significant experimental
interest in recent years. These resonances are promising for many-body physics
experiments, yet the practical application of OFRs has been limited. The theory
of OFRs has been based on an approximate model that fails in important detuning
regimes, and the incomplete theoretical understanding of this effect has
hindered OFR experiments. We present the most complete theoretical treatment of
OFRs to date, demonstrating important characteristics that must be considered
in OFR experiments and comparing OFRs to the well-studied case of magnetic
Feshbach resonances. We also present a comprehensive treatment of the
approximate OFR model, including a study of the range of validity for this
model. Finally, we derive experimentally useful expressions that can be applied
to real experimental data to extract important information about the resonance
structure of colliding atoms.
