Multichannel long-range Rydberg molecules

Abstract

A generalized class of ultra-long-range Rydberg molecules is proposed which consist of a multichannel Rydberg atom whose outermost electron creates a chemical bond with a distant ground state atom. Such multichannel Rydberg molecules exhibit favorable properties for laser excitation, because states exist where the quantum defect varies strongly with the principal quantum number. The resulting occurrence of near degeneracies with states of high orbital angular momentum promotes the admixture of low $l$ into the high $l$ deeply bound `trilobite' molecule states, thereby circumventing the usual difficulty posed by electric dipole selection rules. Such states also can exhibit multi-scale binding possibilities that could present novel options for quantum manipulation.