Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

We review recent experiments carried out with dense (1012 cm–3) ultracold (T = 40 ?K) samples of Cs atoms which have the goal to characterize, by high-resolution spectroscopy, the interactions between Cs atoms, Cs+ ions and electrons that lead to the formation of metastable long-range mole...

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Main Authors: Heiner Saßmannshausen, Johannes Deiglmayr, Frédéric Merkt
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Swiss Chemical Society 2016-04-01
Series:CHIMIA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.chimia.ch/chimia/article/view/1750
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author Heiner Saßmannshausen
Johannes Deiglmayr
Frédéric Merkt
author_facet Heiner Saßmannshausen
Johannes Deiglmayr
Frédéric Merkt
author_sort Heiner Saßmannshausen
collection DOAJ
description We review recent experiments carried out with dense (1012 cm–3) ultracold (T = 40 ?K) samples of Cs atoms which have the goal to characterize, by high-resolution spectroscopy, the interactions between Cs atoms, Cs+ ions and electrons that lead to the formation of metastable long-range molecules. The types of molecules observed in these experiments and the mechanisms leading to the aggregation of atoms in weakly bound molecules are very different from those encountered in warmer samples. In particular, we present results on molecules with binding energies of less than 0.05 J/mol and discuss their properties in the context of a new category of molecular states arising from slow-electron–atom scattering and their relation to atomic and molecular Rydberg states. One of the astonishing aspects of these types of molecules is that they can still be treated in good approximation in the realm of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation despite a huge electronic-state density. Non-Born-Oppenheimer effects are revealed by the decay of the molecules into neutral and charged fragments.
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spelling doaj.art-dab9204b6f334dd4b86c288c8dec31382022-12-21T17:24:53ZdeuSwiss Chemical SocietyCHIMIA0009-42932673-24242016-04-0170410.2533/chimia.2016.263Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg AtomsHeiner Saßmannshausen0Johannes Deiglmayr1Frédéric Merkt2Laboratory of Physical Chemistry ETH Zurich Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 CH-8093 Zürich, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Physical Chemistry ETH Zurich Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 CH-8093 Zürich, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Physical Chemistry ETH Zurich Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland. feme@xuv.phys.chem.ethz.ch We review recent experiments carried out with dense (1012 cm–3) ultracold (T = 40 ?K) samples of Cs atoms which have the goal to characterize, by high-resolution spectroscopy, the interactions between Cs atoms, Cs+ ions and electrons that lead to the formation of metastable long-range molecules. The types of molecules observed in these experiments and the mechanisms leading to the aggregation of atoms in weakly bound molecules are very different from those encountered in warmer samples. In particular, we present results on molecules with binding energies of less than 0.05 J/mol and discuss their properties in the context of a new category of molecular states arising from slow-electron–atom scattering and their relation to atomic and molecular Rydberg states. One of the astonishing aspects of these types of molecules is that they can still be treated in good approximation in the realm of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation despite a huge electronic-state density. Non-Born-Oppenheimer effects are revealed by the decay of the molecules into neutral and charged fragments. https://www.chimia.ch/chimia/article/view/1750Dipole-dipole interactionsLong-range rydberg moleculesRydberg statesSinglet and triplet electron-cs scattering lengthUltracold rydberg gases
spellingShingle Heiner Saßmannshausen
Johannes Deiglmayr
Frédéric Merkt
Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
CHIMIA
Dipole-dipole interactions
Long-range rydberg molecules
Rydberg states
Singlet and triplet electron-cs scattering length
Ultracold rydberg gases
title Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
title_full Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
title_fullStr Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
title_full_unstemmed Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
title_short Exotic Chemistry with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms
title_sort exotic chemistry with ultracold rydberg atoms
topic Dipole-dipole interactions
Long-range rydberg molecules
Rydberg states
Singlet and triplet electron-cs scattering length
Ultracold rydberg gases
url https://www.chimia.ch/chimia/article/view/1750
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AT johannesdeiglmayr exoticchemistrywithultracoldrydbergatoms
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