



01709nas a2200205   4500008004100000245006400041210006200105260001400167490000800181520108400189100002401273700002101297700002301318700002801341700003001369700002401399700001801423700002501441856003701466       2020                        eng d00aExotic photonic molecules via Lennard-Jones-like potentials0 aExotic photonic molecules via LennardJoneslike potentials  c9/19/20200 v1253 a<p>Ultracold systems offer an unprecedented level of control of interactions between atoms. An important challenge is to achieve a similar level of control of the interactions between photons. Towards this goal, we propose a realization of a novel Lennard-Jones-like potential between photons coupled to the Rydberg states via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). This potential is achieved by tuning Rydberg states to a F{ö}rster resonance with other Rydberg states. We consider few-body problems in 1D and 2D geometries and show the existence of self-bound clusters (&quot;molecules&quot;) of photons. We demonstrate that for a few-body problem, the multi-body interactions have a significant impact on the geometry of the molecular ground state. This leads to phenomena without counterparts in conventional systems: For example, three photons in 2D preferentially arrange themselves in a line-configuration rather than in an equilateral-triangle configuration. Our result opens a new avenue for studies of many-body phenomena with strongly interacting photons.</p>1 aBienias, Przemyslaw1 aGullans, Michael1 aKalinowski, Marcin1 aCraddock, Alexander, N.1 aOrnelas-Huerta, Dalia, P.1 aRolston, Steven, L.1 aPorto, J., V.1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V.  uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2003.07864