| We will discuss an unusual molecule formed from a Rydberg atom and a ground state atom. Depending on the Rydberg excitation n, it can have a bond length of 1000 atomic units and more (n=30), and its spectrum has been experimentally detected by T. Pfau and his group in Stuttgart for Rb2. The probably most remarkable properties of this long range molecule is his binding mechanism and decay: it s bound by internal quantum reflection from a steep potential well, and this binding is linked to the decay which happens "inward", when the two Rb atoms collide and form a strongly bound Rb2^+ molecular ion. Presently, we describe this decay simply by open boundary condition for the inward scattering which is to be debated. |
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