Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: We study long range interactions between two Rydberg atoms and predict the existence of ultralong range Rydberg dimers with equilibrium distances of many thousands of Bohr radii. We calculate the dispersion coefficients C5, C6, and C8 for two rubidium atoms in the same excited level np and find that they scale like n(8), n(11), and n(15), respectively. We show that for certain molecular symmetries these coefficients lead to long range potential wells that can support molecular bound levels. Such macrodimers would be very sensitive to their environment and could probe weak interactions. We suggest experiments to detect these macrodimers.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institution: University of Connecticut
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2082006215