Approach to form long-range ion-pair molecules in an ultracold Rb gas

Abstract

We propose a realizable and efficient approach for exciting long-range ion-pair molecules, known as heavy Rydberg states, in an ultracold ${}^{85}$Rb gas via Feshbach resonances. Heavy Rydberg states, the molecular analogs of electronic Rydberg states, with the electron replaced by an atomic anion, offer opportunities for novel physics, including the formation of ultracold anions and strongly coupled plasmas. We map the positions, lifetimes, and Franck-Condon factors of heavy Rydberg resonances across a wide range of excitation energies, and we calculate the rates of formation for the most promising transitions through long-lived intermediate interferometric resonances.