We show that two photons coupled to Rydberg states via electromagnetically induced transparency can interact via an effective Coulomb potential. This interaction gives rise to a continuum of two-body bound states. Within the continuum, metastable bou
nd states are distinguished in analogy with quasi-bound states tunneling through a potential barrier. We find multiple branches of metastable bound states whose energy spectrum is governed by the Coulomb potential, thus obtaining a photonic analogue of the hydrogen atom. Under certain conditions, the wavefunction resembles that of a diatomic molecule in which the two polaritons are separated by a finite bond length. These states propagate with a negative group velocity in the medium, allowing for a simple preparation and detection scheme, before they slowly decay to pairs of bound Rydberg atoms.
We suggest a new method for quantum optical control with nanoscale resolution. Our method allows for coherent far-field manipulation of individual quantum systems with spatial selectivity that is not limited by the wavelength of radiation and can, in
principle, approach a few nanometers. The selectivity is enabled by the nonlinear atomic response, under the conditions of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency, to a control beam with intensity vanishing at a certain location. Practical performance of this technique and its potential applications to quantum information science with cold atoms, ions, and solid-state qubits are discussed.
