Rydberg-Rydberg interactions and ultracold Rydberg-Rydberg molecules

超冷原子气体为探索多体系统的量子物理提供了前所未有的机会，是研究量子物质和相关奇异现象的通用模型系统。这些领域的成功在很大程度上可以归功于对超冷原子的卓越控制水平，以及强大的新方法的发展，这些方法可以直接访问这些新系统的宏观和微观性质。我们建议利用密集量子气体中高激发里德堡原子的特殊性质，特别是它们可调的长程相互作用，通过这个有趣的原子模型系统进入强关联多体物理领域。我们引入了一种新的光学方法来直接成像量子气体中的单个里德堡原子，提供了更好的实验途径来了解新的物理制度。这种基于电磁诱导透明的方法，与里德堡原子之间可调的强相互作用相结合，将为我们提供单个里德堡原子在基态原子或玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体的囚禁气体中的增强的灵敏度、高分辨率的单次拍摄图像。这种直接成像里德堡原子的新能力将提供对最近预测的里德堡气体在偶极阻塞状态下的结晶态的即时实验访问，通过里德堡修饰获得偶极量子气体，以及研究多粒子与介观原子系综的纠缠。预期的结果将有助于揭示多体量子系统中量子动力学和纠缠的基本问题，并有助于更好地理解强关联区域中的复杂现象。

Ultracold atomic gases offer unprecedented opportunities to explore the quantum physics of many-body systems and are versatile model systems for investigating quantum matter and associated exotic phenomena. Much of the success in these areas can be attributed to the outstanding level of control possible over ultracold atoms, and to the development of powerful new methods which can provide direct access to the macroscopic and microscopic properties of these novel systems.We propose to make use of the exceptional properties of highly-excited Rydberg atoms in dense quantum gases, in particular their tunable long-range interactions, to enter the realm of strongly-correlated many-body physics with this intriguing atomic model system. We introduce a new optical method to directly image individual Rydberg atoms within a quantum gas, providing even greater experimental access to new physical regimes. This method based on electromagnetically induced transparency, in combination with the tunable strong interactions between Rydberg atoms will provide us with enhanced sensitivity, high-resolution single-shot images of individual Rydberg atoms within a trapped gas of ground state atoms or a Bose-Einstein condensate. This new capability to directly image the Rydberg atoms will provide immediate experimental access to recently predicted crystalline states of Rydberg gases in the dipole blockade regime, to dipolar quantum gases through Rydberg-dressing, and to the study of many-particle entanglement with mesoscopic atomic ensembles. The anticipated outcomes will shed light on the fundamental issues concerning quantum dynamics and entanglement in many-body quantum systems and will contribute to a better understanding of complex phenomena in strongly-correlated regimes.