An ultracold heavy Rydberg system formed from ultra-long-range molecules bound in a stairwell potential

Abstract

We propose a scheme to realize a heavy Rydberg system (HRS), a bound pair of oppositely charged ions, from a gas of ultracold atoms. The intermediate step to achieve large internuclear separations is the creation of a unique class of ultra-long-range Rydberg molecules bound in a stairwell potential energy curve. Here, a ground-state atom is bound to a Rydberg atom in an oscillatory potential emerging due to attractive singlet $p$-wave electron scattering. The utility of our approach originates in the large electronic dipole transition element between the Rydberg- and the ionic molecule, while the nuclear configuration of the ultracold gas is preserved. The Rabi coupling between the Rydberg molecule and the heavy Rydberg system is typically in the MHz range and the permanent electric dipole moments of the HRS can be as large as one kilo-Debye. We identify specific transitions which place the creation of the heavy Rydberg system within immediate reach of experimental realization.

arXiv comment14 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Dressed ion-pair states of an ultralong-range Rydberg molecule
• Electric field-induced wave-packet dynamics and geometrical rearrangement of trilobite Rydberg molecules
• Ultralong-range Rydberg bi-molecules
• Diffusive-like Redistribution in State-changing Collisions between Rydberg Atoms and Ground State Atoms
• Green's function treatment of Rydberg molecules with spins
• Individual assembly of two-species Rydberg molecules using optical tweezers
• The role of Coulomb anti-blockade in the photoassociation of long-range Rydberg molecules
• Spin-orbit-dependent lifetimes of long-range Rydberg molecules