Alignment of s-state Rydberg molecules in magnetic fields

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Erscheinungsjahr:
2019
Medientyp:
Text
Beschreibung:
  • We unravel some peculiar properties of ultra-long-range Rydberg molecules formed by an s-state 87Rb Rydberg atom and a corresponding ground-state atom whose electronic orbitals are spherically symmetric and therefore should not be influenced by the presence of weak magnetic fields. However, the electron-atom interaction, which establishes the molecular bond, is under certain conditions subject to a sizable spin-orbit coupling and, hence, sensitive to the magnetic field. This mechanism can be harnessed to counterintuitively align the s-state molecules with respect to the field axis. We demonstrate this by analyzing the angular-dependent Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surfaces and the supported vibrational molecular states. Our predictions open interesting possibilities for accessing the physics of relativistic electron-atom scattering experimentally.
Lizenz:
  • info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
Quellsystem:
Forschungsinformationssystem der UHH

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oai:www.edit.fis.uni-hamburg.de:publications/19360502-6138-4280-8c81-30f92ca6066c