For anyone confused by this terribly written article, what I think they are trying to say is the following:
Researchers trap ultracold atoms in a gas that is very dilute. The diluteness means the atoms can't react and combine into molecules because molecules have an exact energy, but two colliding atoms have some other energy, you need a third atom to collide at the same time to take away the excess energy, but this rarely happens when a gas is dilute.
Then they use a magnetic field to modify the electron orbitals in the molecule until its energy is exactly that of two colliding atoms (within that the energy-time uncertainty principle at least). This means two atoms can collide and react together without needing a third to take away the excess energy. When the magnetic field is just right they see a huge increase in chemical reactions and they can compare that with their quantum mechanical calculations of molecular energy orbitals.
If you're wanting a fundamentals-oriented introduction to chemistry, "Why Chemical Reactions Happen" is highly recommended, generally aimed at senior-level school kids who are considering specialising in chemistry at university, and which aims to give a sense of how the subject changes when you approach it with more rigour.
Researchers trap ultracold atoms in a gas that is very dilute. The diluteness means the atoms can't react and combine into molecules because molecules have an exact energy, but two colliding atoms have some other energy, you need a third atom to collide at the same time to take away the excess energy, but this rarely happens when a gas is dilute.
Then they use a magnetic field to modify the electron orbitals in the molecule until its energy is exactly that of two colliding atoms (within that the energy-time uncertainty principle at least). This means two atoms can collide and react together without needing a third to take away the excess energy. When the magnetic field is just right they see a huge increase in chemical reactions and they can compare that with their quantum mechanical calculations of molecular energy orbitals.