Collisions at low translational temperatures between atoms in Rydberg states with large electric dipole transition moments, and polar ground-state molecules represent an ideal setting to study Förster resonance energy transfer between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom [1-4]. This type of atom-molecule interaction has applications, for example, in quantum sensing and coherent control...
We present the first step towards the buildup of a versatile quantum simulator using Rydberg states of the multi-electron atom erbium in optical Tweezers. Our experimental and theoretical study comprises the Rydberg spectrum for series connected to the two lowest 4f12(3H6)6s, Jc = 13/2 and Jc = 11/2 ionic core states of erbium. We use an all-optical detection scheme based on...
We observe a series of conical intersections in the potential energy curves governing the collision between a Rydberg atom and a ground-state atom [1]. This apparent contradiction of the von Neumann-Wigner theorem is resolved by employing the energy of the Rydberg electron as a synthetic dimension. One observable consequence of the conical intersections arises in the $l$-changing collision...
