Magic distances in the blockade mechanism of Rydberg p and d states

Abstract

We show that the Rydberg blockade mechanism, which is well known in the case of s states, can be significantly different for p and d states due to the van der Waals couplings between different Rydberg Zeeman sublevels and the presence of a magnetic-field. We show, in particular, the existence of magic distances corresponding to the laser-excitation of a superposition of doubly excited states.