  Atoms in highly excited Rydberg states exhibit remarkable properties and
constitute a powerful tool for studying quantum phenomena in strongly
interacting many-particle systems. We investigate alkali atoms that are held in
a ring lattice and excited to Rydberg states. The system constitutes an ideal
model system to study thermalization of a coherently evolving quantum
many-particle system in the absence of a thermal bath. Moreover, it offers
exciting perspective to create entangled many-body quantum states which can
serve as a resource for the generation of single photons.
