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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 32: Ultra-cold plasmas and Rydberg systems (joint session A/Q)
Q 32.2: Talk
Wednesday, March 13, 2019, 14:15–14:30, S HS 1 Physik
Alignment of s-state Rydberg molecules in magnetic fields — •Frederic Hummel1, Christian Fey1, and Peter Schmelcher1,2 — 1Zentrum für Optische Quantentechnologien, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany — 2The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
We unravel some peculiar properties of ultralong-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 sizeable 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 novel possibilities to access the physics of relativistic electron-atom scattering experimentally.