Experimental characterization of singlet scattering channels in long-range Rydberg molecules

Abstract

We observe the formation of long-range Cs${}_2$ Rydberg molecules consisting of a Rydberg and a ground-state atom by photoassociation spectroscopy in an ultracold Cs gas near 6s${}_{1/2}$($F$=3,4)$\to$np${}_{3/2}$ resonances (n=26-34). The spectra reveal two types of molecular states recently predicted by D. A. Anderson, S. A. Miller, and G. Raithel [Phys. Rev. A 90, 062518 (2014)]: states bound purely by triplet s-wave scattering with binding energies ranging from 400 MHz at n=26 to 80 MHz at n=34, and states bound by mixed singlet-triplet s-wave scattering with smaller and F-dependent binding energies. The experimental observations are accounted for by an effective Hamiltonian including s-wave scattering pseudopotentials, the hyperfine interaction of the ground-state atom, and the spin-orbit interaction of the Rydberg atom. The analysis enabled the characterization of the role of singlet scattering in the formation of long-range Rydberg molecules and the determination of an effective singlet s-wave scattering length for low-energy electron-Cs collisions.

v2 with corrections and modifications - to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (2)

• Ultracold atom-electron interaction: from two to many-body physics
• Observation of dipole-quadrupole interaction in an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms

Cited by in corpus (10)

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• Hybridization of Rydberg electron orbitals by molecule formation
• Controlling Rydberg atom excitations in dense background gases
• Dressed ion-pair states of an ultralong-range Rydberg molecule
• Lifetimes of ultralong-range strontium Rydberg molecules in a dense BEC
• Electromagnetically induced transparency of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules
• Electric field-induced wave-packet dynamics and geometrical rearrangement of trilobite Rydberg molecules
• Formation of ultracold ion pairs through long-range Rydberg molecules
• Electronic structure of ultralong-range Rydberg pentaatomic molecules with two polar diatomic molecules
• Condensate losses and oscillations induced by Rydberg atoms