Abstract
Rydberg physics is considered an independent discipline within atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Most of the interest in Rydberg physics is due to the possible applications of Rydberg atoms in quantum information processing [1,2,3,4] and quantum simulation of many-body Hamiltonians [5,6,7,8]. As a consequence, most of the works and books based on Rydberg atoms assume some value for the decay rate of the atom; hence, they do not explore the nature of the different decay mechanisms [7, 8]. Such a perspective may be suitable for quantum optics, quantum information, and quantum simulations. However, if the nature of the decay of Rydberg atoms is understood, it will help to elucidate the best states and scenarios for a given application. Surprisingly enough, it turns out that the primary decay mechanism of Rydberg atoms in a high-density medium is through chemical reactions [9], the topic of this book. Indeed, we would like to go further and say that in most of the gas phase systems, chemical reactions are very often the main decoherence channels. Therefore, understanding and controlling chemical reactions is vital for the development of quantum technologies.
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Notes
- 1.
The scaling law is derived through second-order perturbation theory in which C 6 ∝ d 4∕ ΔE, where d is the dipole moment matrix element and ΔE is the energy difference between adjacent energy states. Then, from Table 7.2, one finds d ∝ n 2 and ΔE ∝ n −3, and therefore C 6 ∝ n 11, since it seems that the scaling law of the C6 with n is affected
- 2.
This interaction is studied in detail in Sect. 9.4.1.
- 3.
This is a trick that leads to fairly accurate results in comparison with the Green’s function formalism [22], and against accurate spectroscopy data.
- 4.
The double pick structure observed at the position of the perturber is an artefact of using cylindrical coordinates. Thus, the electron will spend most of the time near the perturber but not on two different sides of it.
- 5.
The double-peak structure is an artefact of using cylindrical coordinates and hence does not have physical relevance.
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Pérez Ríos, J. (2020). Ultracold Rydberg Atoms and Ultralong-Range Rydberg Molecules. In: An Introduction to Cold and Ultracold Chemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55936-6_7
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