Spatial imaging of the movement of bound atoms to reveal the Rydberg molecular bond via electromagnetically induced transparency

Abstract

We propose an approach to detect individual Rydberg molecules with each molecule consisting of two atoms in different Rydberg states. The scheme exploits the movement of atoms in the presence of an external force that exerts only on atoms in one Rydberg state. Since the movement of atoms in the other Rydberg state depends on whether they are bound with atoms directly driven by the applied force, bound atoms can be distinguished from unbound atoms. By utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency, it is possible to non-destructively image the positions of molecules. The scheme is sensitive to a weak force, which is suited to optically detect spatial positions and bond structure of Rydberg molecules.