Trilobite molecules on the cover of Physical Review Letters

The publication from the working group of OPTIMAS member Professor Dr. Herwig Ott presents a novel experiment in which high-resolution spectra of special rubidium-87 molecules are generated using three-photon photoassociation. Three light particles interact in a targeted manner to generate so-called trilobite dimers with the principal quantum numbers n = 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27. These exotic molecules are characterized by a high binding energy, which allows theoretical models of electron-atom interaction to be tested and further developed with unprecedented accuracy. A recently developed Green's function method is used for the theoretical description. This avoids the convergence problems of earlier approaches and allows an exact calculation of the vibrational spectrum. The comparatively high binding energy of the molecules is essentially determined by the low-energy S-wave scattering between electron and atom. This enables extremely precise determination of the 3𝑆₁ scattering phase shift in an energy range that is not experimentally accessible for free electrons.

High Precision Spectroscopy of Trilobite Rydberg Molecules
Markus Exner, Rohan Srikumar, Richard Blättner, Matthew T. Eiles, Peter Schmelcher, and Herwig Ott
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 223401 (2025)

Link to Cover

Physical Review Letters is a high-ranking journal in the field of physics. The selection of an article for presentation on the cover is a special honor and shows that the editors attribute particular importance to the study.

For further information: 

Prof. Dr. Herwig Ott

RPTU in Kaiserslautern, Department of Physics

Phone:  +49 (0)631-205 2817

E-mail: ott(at)physik.uni-kl.de