  We report on the observation of interactions between ultracold Rydberg atoms
and ions in a Paul trap. The rate of observed inelastic collisions, which
manifest themselves as charge transfer between the Rydberg atoms and ions,
exceeds that of Langevin collisions for ground state atoms by about three
orders of magnitude. This indicates a huge increase in interaction strength. We
study the effect of the vacant Paul trap's electric fields on the Rydberg
excitation spectra. To quantitatively describe the exhibited shape of the ion
loss spectra, we need to include the ion-induced Stark shift on the Rydberg
atoms. Furthermore, we demonstrate Rydberg excitation on a dipole-forbidden
transition with the aid of the electric field of a single trapped ion. Our
results confirm that interactions between ultracold atoms and trapped ions can
be controlled by laser coupling to Rydberg states. Adding dynamic Rydberg
dressing may allow for the creation of spin-spin interactions between atoms and
ions, and the elimination of collisional heating due to ionic micromotion in
atom-ion mixtures.
