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A Rydberg atom has an electron excited to a large principal quantum number . In a hydrogen-like model, the binding energy scales as and the orbital size as . The outer electron is therefore weakly bound and its motion extends far beyond the compact core.
These properties make Rydberg atoms sensitive to applied electric fields and useful for studying controllable interactions such as Rydberg blockade. A field ramp can ionize different excited states at different thresholds, enabling state-selective field ionization. Real multi-electron atoms depart from the simple hydrogen-like spectrum, especially when the outer electron penetrates the core.
A Rydberg atom is an atom that has one or more electrons in a very high energy state, meaning that the electron is relatively far from the nucleus compared to electrons in lower energy levels. This can be achieved by exciting the atom using various means, such as lasers or electric fields.