2006/09/25 by Chris H. Greene, Edward Hamilton, Edward L. Hamilton +6 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Chemical Physics Studies #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #physics.atom-ph #physics.chem-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.97.233002
3 figures, 5 pages in two-column format
arxiv created 2006/09/25 · openalex publication_date 2006/12/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Recent theoretical studies with alkali atoms A* excited to high Rydberg states predicted the existence of ultra-long-range molecular bound states. Such excited dimers have large electric dipole moments which, in combination with their long radiative lifetimes, make them excellent candidates for manipulation in applications. This Letter reports on experimental investigations of the self-broadening of Rb principal series lines, which revealed multiple satellites in the line wings. The positions of the satellites agree quantitatively with theoretically predicted minima in the excited long-range Rydberg states of Rb2.