# Observation of spin-orbit-dependent electron scattering using long-range Rydberg molecules

## TL;DR

This study provides experimental evidence of spin-orbit interaction in electron scattering within ultralong-range Rydberg molecules, revealing characteristic spectral splittings and opening avenues for exploring spin dynamics and low-energy scattering experiments.

## Contribution

First direct observation of spin-orbit interaction effects in electron scattering within Rydberg molecules using photoassociation spectroscopy.

## Key findings

- Detected characteristic level splittings due to spin-orbit interaction
- Demonstrated sensitivity of p-wave dominated states to spin-orbit effects
- Showed molecular setup as a platform for low-energy scattering studies

## Abstract

We present experimental evidence for spin-orbit interaction of an electron as it scatters from a neutral atom. The scattering process takes place within a Rb$_2$ ultralong-range Rydberg molecule, consisting of a Rydberg atomic core, a Rydberg electron, and a ground state atom. The spin-orbit interaction leads to characteristic level splittings of vibrational molecular lines which we directly observe via photoassociation spectroscopy. We benefit from the fact that molecular states dominated by resonant $p$-wave interaction are particularly sensitive to the spin-orbit interaction. Our work paves the way for studying novel spin dynamics in ultralong-range Rydberg molecules. Furthermore, it shows that the molecular setup can serve as a microlaboratory to perform precise scattering experiments in the low-energy regime of a few meV.