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arXiv:1406.3569 · Physical Review A

Simulations of prompt many-body ionization in a frozen Rydberg gas

F. Robicheaux, M. M. Goforth, M. A. Phillips

Published Aug 20, 2014• 9 citations
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Abstract

The results of a theoretical investigation of prompt many-body ionization are reported. Our calculations address an experiment that reported ionization in Rydberg gases for densities two orders of magnitude less than expected from ionization between pairs of atoms. The authors argued that the results were due to the simultaneous interaction between many atoms. We performed classical calculations for many interacting Rydberg atoms with the ions fixed in space and have found that the many-atom interaction does allow ionization at lower densities than estimates from two-atom interactions. However, we found that the density fluctuations in a gas play a larger role. These two effects are an order of magnitude too small to account for the experimental results suggesting at least one other mechanism strongly affects ionization.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.022712

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The results of a theoretical investigation of prompt many-body ionization are reported. Our calculations address an experiment that reported ionization in Rydberg gases for densities two orders of magnitude less than expected from ionization between pairs of atoms. The authors argued that the results were due to the simultaneous interaction between many atoms. We performed classical calculations for many interacting Rydberg atoms with the ions fixed in space and have found that the many-atom interaction does allow ionization at lower densities than estimates from two-atom interactions. However, we found that the density fluctuations in a gas play a larger role. These two effects are an order of magnitude too small to account for the experimental results suggesting at least one other mechanism strongly affects ionization.
In a recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 023004 (2007)], we investigated the influence of the attractive van der Waals interaction on the pair distribution and Penning ionization dynamics of ultracold Rydberg gases. Here we extend this description to atoms initially prepared in Rydberg states exhibiting repulsive interaction. We present calculations based on a Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate the dynamics of many atoms under the influence of both repulsive and attractive long-range interatomic forces. Redistribution to nearby states induced by blackbody radiation is taken into account, changing the effective interaction potentials. The model agrees with experimental observations, where the ionization rate is found to increase when the excitation laser is blue detuned from the atomic resonance.
We report clear evidence of the role of dipole-dipole interaction in Penning ionization of Rydberg atoms, leading to the formation of an ultracold plasma. Penning ionization of np Rydberg Cesium atoms is prevented for states with in n < 42, which correspond to a repulsive potential, but it does not occur for n larger than 42, corresponding to an attractive potential. Blackbody radiation is mostly responsible for the background and initial ionization, although ion-Rydberg collisions and population transfer due to limited superradiance may have to be considered.
Using a classical trajectory Monte Carlo method, we have computed the ionization resulting from the interaction between two cold Rydberg atoms. We focus on the products resulting from close interaction between two highly excited atoms. We give information on the distribution of ejected electron energies, the distribution of internal atom energies and the velocity distribution of the atoms and ions after the ionization. If the potential for the atom is not purely Coulombic, the average interaction between two atoms can change from attractive to repulsive giving a Van de Graaff-like mechanism for accelerating atoms. In a small fraction of ionization cases, we find that the ionization leads to a positive molecular ion where all of the distances are larger than 1000 Bohr radii.
Spectral linewidth broadening in Rydberg gases, a phenomenon previously attributed to the many-body effect, was observed experimentally almost a decade ago. The observed linewidth was typically 80--100 times larger than the average interaction strength predicted from a binary interaction. The interpretation of such a phenomenon is usually based on the so-called diffusion model, where the linewidth broadening mostly originates from the diffusion of excitations. We present a model calculation to show that diffusion is not the main mechanism of the linewidth broadening. We find that the rare pair fluctuation at small separation is the dominant factor contributing to this broadening. Our results give a width of about 20--30 times larger than the average interaction strength. More importantly, by turning off the diffusion process, we do not observe an order-of-magnitude change in the spectral linewidth.
Molecular-dynamics simulations have been performed for frozen Rydberg gases in a strong magnetic field of B = 2.9 T, up to a microsecond time scale. We found that a small number of spontaneously ionized electrons may de-excite a large portion of Rydberg atoms, while the free electrons leave the frozen Rydberg gases along the B-field. Such de-excitations as well as Rydberg–Rydberg atom interactions can induce significant heating to strongly magnetized Rydberg gases. Kinetic energy increase by 2–3 orders of magnitude has been observed for the initially frozen (~0.2 mK) Rydberg gases.
Recent developments in the study of ultracold Rydberg gases demand an advanced level of experimental sophistication, in which high atomic and optical densities must be combined with excellent control of external fields and sensitive Rydberg atom detection. We describe a tailored experimental system used to produce and study Rydberg-interacting atoms excited from dense ultracold atomic gases. The experiment has been optimized for fast duty cycles using a high flux cold atom source and a three beam optical dipole trap. The latter enables tuning of the atomic density and temperature over several orders of magnitude, all the way to the Bose-Einstein condensation transition. An electrode structure surrounding the atoms allows for precise control over electric fields and single-particle sensitive field ionization detection of Rydberg atoms. We review two experiments which highlight the influence of strong Rydberg-Rydberg interactions on different many-body systems. First, the Rydberg blockade effect is used to pre-structure an atomic gas prior to its spontaneous evolution into an ultracold plasma. Second, hybrid states of photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons are studied. By looking at the statistical distribution of Rydberg excited atoms we reveal correlations between dark-state polaritons. These experiments will ultimately provide a deeper understanding of many-body phenomena in strongly-interacting regimes, including the study of strongly-coupled plasmas and interfaces between atoms and light at the quantum level.