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Effect of an applied magnetic field on Sr84 n1D2 ultralong-range Rydberg dimers

S. Yoshida1, C. Wang2, A. Li2, S. K. Kanungo2, T. C. Killian2, and F. B. Dunning2

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), A-1040 Vienna, Austria, European Union
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005-1892, USA

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 022814 – Published 13 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6bj1-1ywm

Abstract

Photoassociation of 5snd 1D2−5s2 1S0 ultralong-range Rydberg dimers from an ultracold Sr84 atomic gas in a magnetic field is studied. In the absence of magnetic fields, the electronic wave function is aligned along the rotating molecular axis through electron-atom scattering. With increasing magnetic field strength, the symmetry axis of the electron wave function becomes determined by the applied field. While the ground-state atom has no spin or net charge to interact directly with the magnetic field, the dimer wave function in the limit of strong magnetic field becomes aligned along the applied field. Photoassociation spectra show that with increasing field, an increasing number of rovibrational states are excited, indicating strong coupling between rotational states within the Rydberg dimer.

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References (16)

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 022814– Published 13 August, 2026
  • Received 20 May 2026
  • Accepted 22 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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