title: Macrodimers: ultralong range Rydberg molecules.
abstract: We study long range interactions between two Rydberg atoms and predict the existence of ultralong range Rydberg dimers with equilibrium distances of many thousands of Bohr radii. We calculate the dispersion coefficients C5, C6, and C8 for two rubidium atoms in the same excited level np and find that they scale like n(8), n(11), and n(15), respectively. We show that for certain molecular symmetries these coefficients lead to long range potential wells that can support molecular bound levels. Such macrodimers would be very sensitive to their environment and could probe weak interactions. We suggest experiments to detect these macrodimers.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Connecticut, 2152 Hillside Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3046, USA.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boisseau
authors.forename: Ionel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simbotin
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Côté