Schematic diagram of the Rydberg energy level structure for a given value of the radial quantum number <em>n</em>

<p><strong>Figure 3.</strong> Schematic diagram of the Rydberg energy level structure for a given value of the radial quantum number <em>n</em>. The panel on the left illustrates level shifts due to the quantum defects δ_<em>nL</em> for <em>L</em> = 0, 1, 2. The panel on the right shows how the degeneracy in the <em>L</em> levels is lifted by the anisotropic term {\underline{H}}^{\prime } in (<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-4075/46/13/134011/article#jpb460054eqn54" target="_blank">54</a>).</p> <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>We introduce an adiabatic theory of Rydberg atoms in which non-Abelian gauge potentials arise. An example is given in which the polarization properties of a complex core lead to emergent gauge potentials that describe a 't Hooft–Polyakov monopole. The latter induces a spin–orbit like interaction through a mechanism called isospin–spin conversion. We briefly review the current status of experimental efforts to detect the resulting Landè-like fine structure splittings. We address the relevance of this phenomenon with recent efforts to dress cold atoms with lasers in order to induce Rashba–Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings.