Switching Exciton Pulses Through Conical Intersections

Abstract: Exciton pulses transport excitation and entanglement adiabatically through Rydberg aggregates, assemblies of highly excited light atoms, which are set into directed motion by resonant dipole-dipole interaction. Here, we demonstrate the coherent splitting of such pulses as well as the spatial segregation of electronic excitation and atomic motion. Both mechanisms exploit local nonadiabatic effects at a conical intersection, turning them from a decoherence source into an asset. The intersection provides a sensitive knob controlling the propagation direction and coherence properties of exciton pulses. The fundamental ideas discussed here have general implications for excitons on a dynamic network.