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arXiv · 2608.09950

Observation of node-dependent Rydberg molecular bound states

Qing Li·Shi-Yao Shao·Jun Zhang·Han-Chao Chen·Li-Hua Zhang·Bang Liu·Guang-Can Guo·Dong-Sheng Ding·Bao-Sen Shi
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Abstract

Ultralong-range Rydberg molecules, formed by the interaction between a highly excited Rydberg atom and a ground-state atom, provide a unique platform for exploring quantum phenomena spanning nanometer-to-micrometer distances as well as exotic few-body interactions. The formation mechanisms and resultant physical properties differ markedly between s-wave and p-wave scattering channels. Here we report the experimental observation of node-dependent p-wave molecular signals in Rb(nS)-Rb(5S) Rydberg molecular spectra, where variations in the principal quantum number n directly reveal the shift of molecular binding energies induced by the moving nodal structure of the Rydberg electron wavefunction. This node-dependence is attributed to a cooperative effect between the local gradient of the nS-electron wavefunction and the energydependent p-wave scattering length. In addition, resolving two p-wave bound states associated with adjacent nodes highlights the remarkable sub-nanometer spatial resolution achieved in our experiment. Our findings reveal a more profound quantum control mechanism, wherein the principal quantum number acts as a switch for nodal-selective molecular bound states, and the reported method provides a sensitive spectroscopic probe of electron-atom scattering.

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Qing Li, Shi-Yao Shao, Jun Zhang, Han-Chao Chen, Li-Hua Zhang, Bang Liu, Guang-Can Guo, Dong-Sheng Ding, Bao-Sen Shi. 2026-07-09. Observation of node-dependent Rydberg molecular bound states. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09950

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