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Rydberg Electrons in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Jia Wang, Marko Gacesa, and R. Côté
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 243003 – Published 18 June 2015
Physics logo See Synopsis: Ripples in a BEC Pond

Abstract

We investigate a hybrid system composed of ultracold Rydberg atoms immersed in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The coupling between Rydberg electrons and BEC atoms leads to excitations of phonons, the exchange of which induces a Yukawa interaction between Rydberg atoms. Because of the small electron mass, the effective charge associated with this quasiparticle-mediated interaction can be large. Its range, equal to the BEC healing length, is tunable using Feshbach resonances to adjust the scattering length between BEC atoms. We find that for small healing lengths, the distortion of the BEC can “image” the Rydberg electron wave function, while for large healing lengths the induced attractive Yukawa potentials between Rydberg atoms are strong enough to bind them.

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  • Received 4 November 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.243003

© 2015 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Ripples in a BEC Pond

Published 18 June 2015

Atoms in a condensate could be used to image the quantum wave function of an impurity charge.

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Authors & Affiliations

Jia Wang, Marko Gacesa, and R. Côté

  • Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 24 — 19 June 2015

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