Manipulating nanoscale atom–atom interactions with cavity QED

Abstract

Abstract. We theoretically explore manipulation of interactions between excited and ground state atoms at nanoscale separations by cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED). We develop an adiabatic molecular dressed state formalism and show that it is possible to generate Fano-Feshbach resonances between ground and long-lived excited-state atoms inside a cavity. The resonances are shown to arise due to nonadiabatic coupling near a pseudo-crossing between the dressed state potentials. We illustrate our results with a model study using fermionic 171 Yb atoms in a two-modal cavity. Our study is important for manipulation of interatomic interactions at low energy by cavity field.