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Updated: Jun 13, 2025

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Strong Spin-Motion Coupling in the Ultrafast Dynamics of Rydberg Atoms
V Bharti1, S Sugawa1,2,3, M Kunimi4
1<a href="https://ror.org/04wqh5h97">Institute for Molecular Science</a>, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
Abstract:
Rydberg atoms in optical lattices and tweezers is now a well-established platform for simulating quantum spin systems. However, the role of the atoms' spatial wave function has not been examined in detail experimentally. Here, we show a strong spin-motion coupling emerging from the large variation of the interaction potential over the wave function spread. We observe its clear signature on the ultrafast many-body nanosecond-dynamics of atoms excited to a Rydberg S state, using picosecond pulses, from an unity-filling atomic Mott-insulator. We also propose an approach to tune arbitrarily the strength of the spin-motion coupling relative to the motional energy scale set by trapping potentials. Our work provides a new direction for exploring the dynamics of strongly correlated quantum systems by adding the motional degree of freedom to the Rydberg simulation toolbox.
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