Long-range Rydberg–Rydberg interactions in calcium, strontium and ytterbium

Long-range dipole–dipole and quadrupole–quadrupole interactions between pairs of Rydberg atoms are calculated perturbatively for calcium, strontium and ytterbium within the Coulomb approximation. Quantum defects, obtained by fitting existing laser spectroscopic data, are provided for all S, P, D and F series of strontium and for the 3 P 2 series of calcium. The results show qualitative differences with the alkali metal atoms, including isotropically attractive interactions of the strontium 1 S 0 states and a greater rarity of Förster resonances. Only two such resonances are identified, both in triplet series of strontium. The angular dependence of the long-range interaction is briefly discussed.