Measurements of spatial correlations in quantum gases using ultralong-range strontium Rydberg molecules

Synopsis The photoexcitation of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules is demonstrated as a probe of spatial cor-relations in a quantum gas on previously inaccessible length scales of 1400-3200 a 0. Measurements using cold (∼1 μK) (fermionic) 87Sr and (bosonic) 84Sr reveal the effects of quantum statistics on the pair correlation function g (2)(R).