EXCITATION OF ULTRACOLD MOLECULES TO ``TRILOBITE-LIKE" LONG-RANGE MOLECULAR RYDBERG STATES
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Date
2013
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Publisher
Ohio State University
Abstract
A class of long-range Rydberg molecules, sometimes called "trilobite states", occurs when a ground-state atom is embedded in the electronic cloud of a Rydberg atom., 2458 (2000).} The bond between the Rydberg atom and the ground-state atom originates from the low-energy scattering of the Rydberg electron from the ground-state atom. We produce trilobite-like states of ultracold Rb$_2$ at low principal quantum numbers and at internuclear separations less than 40 bohr. We populate these states through single-photon ultraviolet transitions starting from molecules in high-lying vibrational levels of the lowest triplet state. This demonstrates that long-range Rydberg molecules can also be excited through bound-bound transitions, in addition to previous studies that used free-bound transitions. We also discuss the advantages of a bound-bound pathway.
Description
Author Institution: Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3046