Abstract
We analyze the possibility to exploit charge-dipole interaction between a single polar molecule or a one-dimensional (1D) molecular array and a single Rydberg atom to read out molecular rotational populations. We calculate the energy shift of a single ) atom interacting with a single KRb or RbYb molecule in their lowest two rotational states. At atom-molecule distances, relevant to trapping of molecules in optical lattices, the Rydberg electron energy shifts conditioned on the rotational states, are of the order of several MHz. Atom excitation to a Rydberg state and detection of atomic fluorescence conditioned on a rotational state preserves the molecule, making our scheme a nondestructive measurement of the rotational state. Similarly, a 1D array of polar molecules can shift the electron energy of a blockaded Rydberg superatom. We consider a scheme to read out the molecular array collective rotational states using the conditioned Rydberg energy shifts, and numerically analyze a system with three and five KRb or RbYb molecules interacting with ) superatom.
4 More- Received 2 May 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.032325
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