  Charge dynamics in an ultra-cold setup involving a laser dressed atom and an
ion is studied here. This transfer of charge is enabled through molecular
Rydberg states that are accessed via a laser. The character of the charge
exchange crucially depends on the coupling between the electronic dynamics and
the vibrational motion of the atoms and ion. The molecular Rydberg states are
characterized and a criterion for distinguishing coherent and incoherent
regimes is formulated. Furthermore the concept is generalized to the many-body
setup as the ion effectively propagates through a chain of atoms. Aspects of
the transport such as its direction can be controlled by the excitation laser.
This leads to new directions in the investigation of hybrid atom-ion systems
that can be experimentally explored using optically trapped strontium atoms.
