Ultracold molecules engineered by light

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The research proposal will explore a new type of ultralong-range diatomic molecules, which are engineered by optical dressing of potential energy curves. The molecular bond mechanism relies on the coherent coupling of two ground state atoms with an ultralong-range Rydberg potential energy curve. The molecules are tunable to a large degree, exhibit new physical properties, and can be a valuable resource for few- and many-body physics. We plan to study two different classes of such molecules. The first class consists of a ground state atom and an atom in an electronically excited state. The second class will bind two ground state atoms. Common to both classes of molecules is a pronounced long-range character with a bond length, which is given by the size of the involved Rydberg wave function. The bond length can reach several hundreds of nanometer. In contrast to conventional ultralong-range Rydberg molecules, their lifetime can largely exceed that of the involved Rydberg state. The goal of this research project is to observe and characterize these molecules. Because the experiment will be performed in a Bose-Einstein condensate at high atomic densities, we will also look for the coherent interaction of such molecules with the many-body background.