Microwave Induced Ultralong-Range Charge Migration in a Rydberg Atom

A microwave induced superposition of the 40S_1/2 and 40P_1/2 states of a Cs atom has been investigated in detail. Ultralong-range charge migration which spans a region more than 200 nm has been discovered. As far as we know, this is the first time to discover charge migration in such a long range. This leads to a large dipole moment which oscillates periodically. The present discovery may stimulate new applications such as quantum simulation of many body physics dominated by periodic interactions. In addition, we find an interesting phenomenon that Cs atoms in the superposition of 40S_1/2 and 40P_1/2 have a much larger blockade radius than those of Cs (40S_1/2) or Cs (40P_1/2) atoms.