分子物理学。具有千 Debye 永久电偶极矩的三叶虫里德堡分子二聚体的产生。

Molecular physics. Production of trilobite Rydberg molecule dimers with kilo-Debye permanent electric dipole moments.

机构信息

Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA.

出版信息

Science. 2015 Apr 3;348(6230):99-102. doi: 10.1126/science.1260722.

DOI:10.1126/science.1260722

PMID:25838380

Abstract

Permanent electric dipole moments are important for understanding symmetry breaking in molecular physics, control of chemical reactions, and realization of strongly correlated many-body quantum systems. However, large molecular permanent electric dipole moments are challenging to realize experimentally. We report the observation of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules with bond lengths of ~100 nanometers and kilo-Debye permanent electric dipole moments that form when an ultracold ground-state cesium (Cs) atom becomes bound within the electronic cloud of an extended Cs electronic orbit. The electronic character of this hybrid class of "trilobite" molecules is dominated by degenerate Rydberg manifolds, making them difficult to produce by conventional photoassociation. We used detailed coupled-channel calculations to reproduce their properties quantitatively. Our findings may lead to progress in ultracold chemistry and strongly correlated many-body physics.

摘要

永久电偶极矩对于理解分子物理中的对称性破缺、化学反应的控制以及强关联多体量子系统的实现非常重要。然而，大的分子永久电偶极矩在实验上很难实现。我们报告了一种超长程里德堡分子的观测结果，这种分子的键长约为 100 纳米，具有千德拜的永久电偶极矩，当一个超冷的基态铯（Cs）原子在扩展的 Cs 电子轨道的电子云中形成束缚时，就会形成这种分子。这种“三叶虫”分子的混合类的电子性质主要由简并里德堡谱线主导，使得它们很难通过传统的光缔合来产生。我们使用详细的耦合通道计算对其性质进行了定量重现。我们的发现可能会推动超冷化学和强关联多体物理的发展。