Ultracold molecular Rydberg physics in a high density environment

Abstract

Sufficiently high densities in Bose-Einstein condensates provide favorable conditions for the production of ultralong-range polyatomic molecules consisting of one Rydberg atom and a number of neutral ground state atoms. The chemical binding properties and electronic wave functions of these exotic molecules are investigated analytically via hybridized diatomic states. The effects of the molecular geometry on the system's properties are studied through comparisons of the adiabatic potential curves and electronic structures for both symmetric and randomly configured molecular geometries. General properties of these molecules with increasing numbers of constituent atoms and in different geometries are presented. These polyatomic states have spectral signatures that lead to non-Lorentzian line-profiles.