Abstract
Assemblies of Rydberg atoms subject to resonant dipole-dipole interactions exhibit Frenkel excitons. We show that van der Waals shifts can significantly modify the exciton wave function, whenever atoms approach each other closely. As a result, attractive dipole-dipole potentials and repulsive van der Waals interactions can be combined to form stable one-dimensional atom chains, akin to bound aggregates. Here the van der Waals shifts ensure a stronger homogeneous delocalization of a single excitation over the whole chain, enabling it to bind several atoms. When brought into unstable configurations, such Rydberg aggregates allow the direct monitoring of their dissociation dynamics.
- Received 20 December 2013
- Revised 14 May 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.89.053426
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