Electric field control in ultralong-range triatomic polar Rydberg molecules

TL;DR

This paper investigates how external electric fields can be used to control ultralong-range triatomic polar Rydberg molecules by tuning their potential energy curves, facilitating their experimental realization.

Contribution

It demonstrates electric field manipulation of potential energy curves in ultralong-range Rydberg molecules, enabling control over molecular states and interactions.

Findings

Electric fields mix Rydberg electronic states significantly.

Potential energy curves can be tuned to induce curve intersections.

Admixture of s-wave character enhances experimental accessibility.

Abstract

We explore the external electric field control of a species of ultralong-range molecules that emerge from the interaction of a ground state polar molecule with a Rydberg atom. The external field mixes the Rydberg electronic states and therefore strongly alters the electric field seen by the polar diatomic molecule due to the Rydberg electron. As a consequence, the adiabatic potential energy curves responsible for the molecular binding can be tuned in such a way that an intersection with neighboring curves occurs. The latter leads to admixture of s-wave character in the Rydberg wave function and will substantially facilitate the experimental preparation and realization of this particular class of Rydberg molecule species.