Quasi-Contact Forces with Resonant Range Control in Rydberg Atoms

Abstract

We introduce a novel method to engineer sharply peaked, distance-selective interactions between neutral atoms by exploiting interaction-induced resonances within a resonantly driven Rydberg ladder system. By tuning laser parameters, a subsystem eigenstate twist rapidly and brought into degeneracy with the atomic ground state at precisely defined interatomic separations, resulting in an effective potential sharply localized around this resonance distance. Unlike previous off-resonant macrodimer-based schemes, our approach significantly enhances interaction sharpness and strength, reaching MHz scales, and provides straightforward experimental tunability without requiring sub-wavelength positional control. Analytic expressions, validated through comprehensive master-equation simulations, detail the interaction profile's amplitude, width, and resonant distance. This precise control facilitates parallel entangling gates crucial for measurement-based quantum computing and enables simulation of complex lattice Hamiltonians with customizable connectivity. Additionally, our scheme opens possibilities for novel studies in molecular physics through micrometer-scale bond-length diatomic molecules.