@article {1507, title = {Coulomb bound states of strongly interacting photons}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, volume = {115}, year = {2015}, month = {2015/09/16}, pages = {123601}, abstract = { We show that two photons coupled to Rydberg states via electromagnetically induced transparency can interact via an effective Coulomb potential. This interaction gives rise to a continuum of two-body bound states. Within the continuum, metastable bound states are distinguished in analogy with quasi-bound states tunneling through a potential barrier. We find multiple branches of metastable bound states whose energy spectrum is governed by the Coulomb potential, thus obtaining a photonic analogue of the hydrogen atom. Under certain conditions, the wavefunction resembles that of a diatomic molecule in which the two polaritons are separated by a finite "bond length." These states propagate with a negative group velocity in the medium, allowing for a simple preparation and detection scheme, before they slowly decay to pairs of bound Rydberg atoms. }, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.123601}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.03859v1}, author = {Mohammad F. Maghrebi and Michael Gullans and P. Bienias and S. Choi and I. Martin and O. Firstenberg and M. D. Lukin and H. P. B{\"u}chler and Alexey V. Gorshkov} } @article {1506, title = {Scattering resonances and bound states for strongly interacting Rydberg polaritons }, journal = {Physical Review A}, volume = {90}, year = {2014}, month = {2014/11/3}, abstract = { We provide a theoretical framework describing slow-light polaritons interacting via atomic Rydberg states. We use a diagrammatic method to analytically derive the scattering properties of two polaritons. We identify parameter regimes where polariton-polariton interactions are repulsive. Furthermore, in the regime of attractive interactions, we identify multiple two-polariton bound states, calculate their dispersion, and study the resulting scattering resonances. Finally, the two-particle scattering properties allow us to derive the effective low-energy many-body Hamiltonian. This theoretical platform is applicable to ongoing experiments. }, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevA.90.053804}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1402.7333v1}, author = {P. Bienias and S. Choi and O. Firstenberg and Mohammad F. Maghrebi and Michael Gullans and M. D. Lukin and Alexey V. Gorshkov and H. P. B{\"u}chler} }