Experimental verification of minima in excited long-range Rydberg states of Rb_2

Recent theoretical studies with alkali atoms A$^{\ast}$ excited to high Rydberg states predicted the existence of ultra long-range molecular bound states. Such excited dimers have large electric dipole moments which, in combination with their long radiative lifetimes, make them excellent candidates for manipulation in applications. This letter reports on experimental investigations of the self-broadening of Rb principal series lines, which revealed multiple satellites in the line wings. The positions of the satellites agree quantitatively with theoretically-predicted minima in the excited long-range Rydberg states of Rb$_2$.Comment: 3 figures, 5 pages in two-column forma

SPR DETECTION OF SINGLE NANO PARTICLES AND VIRUSES

Abstract Here we report a novel method for detection of single individual particles and viruses by means of surface plasmon assisted optical microscopy. The size of the studied objects may be at least one order of magnitude less than the wavelength of the light used for the imaging. This allows studying of nanoparticles and viruses in natural surrounding (enviroment) by means of cheap and well-developed visible-light sources. The signal reflected from the nanoparticle is enhanced due to excitation of the surface plasmon polariton waves. Combination with modern image-processing procedure allows automatic detection of nano-sized objects