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arXiv:1502.03964 · Physical Review A

State-selective all-optical detection of Rydberg atoms

Florian Karlewski, Markus Mack, Jens Grimmel, N. Sandor, József Fortágh

Published Apr 29, 2015• 13 citations
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Abstract

We present an all-optical protocol for detecting population in a selected Rydberg state of alkali-metal atoms. The detection scheme is based on the interaction of an ensemble of ultracold atoms with two laser pulses: one weak probe pulse which is resonant with the transition between the ground state and the first excited state, and a pulse with high intensity which couples the first excited state to the selected Rydberg state. We show that by monitoring the absorption signal of the probe laser over time, one can deduce the initial population of the Rydberg state. Furthermore, it is shown that---for suitable experimental conditions---the dynamical absorption curve contains information on the initial coherence between the ground state and the selected Rydberg state. We present the results of a proof-of-principle measurement performed on a cold gas of $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms. The method is expected to find application in quantum computing protocols based on Rydberg atoms.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.91.043422

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We present an all-optical protocol for detecting population in a selected Rydberg state of alkali-metal atoms. The detection scheme is based on the interaction of an ensemble of ultracold atoms with two laser pulses: one weak probe pulse which is resonant with the transition between the ground state and the first excited state, and a pulse with high intensity which couples the first excited state to the selected Rydberg state. We show that by monitoring the absorption signal of the probe laser over time, one can deduce the initial population of the Rydberg state. Furthermore, it is shown that---for suitable experimental conditions---the dynamical absorption curve contains information on the initial coherence between the ground state and the selected Rydberg state. We present the results of a proof-of-principle measurement performed on a cold gas of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. The method is expected to find application in quantum computing protocols based on Rydberg atoms.
Population dynamics in weakly excited clouds of ultracold 87Rb^{87}\text{R}\text{b}87Rb Rydberg atoms were studied by means of trap loss, fluorescence detection, and state-dependent stimulated emission. Rydberg atoms were excited to various nlnlnl Rydberg states via continuous two-photon excitation from a magneto-optical trap. A stimulated emission probe laser was then used to bring the Rydberg atoms down to the 6P3/26{P}_{3/2}6P3/2​ state, allowing state-dependent detection of the Rydberg atoms. Measurements of trap loss and fluorescent emission reveal information about the evolution of the Rydberg populations. In particular, population in the initial Rydberg state quickly transfers to other Rydberg states by a noncollisional mechanism, likely superradiant emission. The trap-loss measurements are consistent with black-body ionization as the dominant loss mechanism.
We report on the real-time detection of internal-state dynamics of cold Rubidium atoms being excited from the ground state to the 30D5/230D_{5/2}30D5/2​ Rydberg state via two-photon excitation in a ladder-type system. The atoms are first trapped and then released from a magneto-optic trap (MOT) positioned inside the mode of a low-finesse cavity. Then, Rydberg excitation is performed by a simultaneous pulse from two counter-propagating laser beams transverse to the cavity axis. This excitation changes the number of atoms able to absorb or emit cavity photons; thus, changing the collective atom-cavity coupling. We detect this by weakly driving the cavity and collecting the light transmitted through it with an avalanche photodiode (APD). We are able to observe not only the 2-photon excitation dynamics, but also the transfer of population out of the Rydberg state due to black-body radiation (BBR) and the decay back to the ground state.
We have developed an all-optical method for measuring the lifetimes of nSnSnS and nDnDnD Rydberg states and demonstrate its capabilities with measurements on a dilute cloud of ultracold 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms in a cryogenic environment. The method is based on the time-resolved observation of resonant light absorption by ground-state atoms and selective transfer of Rydberg atoms into the ground state at varying delay times in order to reconstruct Rydberg decay curves. Our measurements of the 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb 30S1/230{S}_{1/2}30S1/2​ state indicate an increase of the lifetime at lowered environment temperatures, as expected due to decreased blackbody radiation. For the 38D5/238{D}_{5/2}38D5/2​ state with an attractive dipole-dipole interaction, ionization and lifetime reduction due to collisional effects are observed.
We have studied the decay of Rydberg excitations in a cold Rb gas. A 10 ns, pulsed-dye-amplified diode laser excites Rb atoms at $70\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ in a magneto-optical trap to nsnsns or npnpnp Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers $26\ensuremath{\le}n\ensuremath{\le}40$. Time-delayed state-selective field ionization is used to directly monitor the population in the initial and neighboring Rydberg levels. The measured time dependence of the Rydberg population is well described by numerical simulations which consider only spontaneous emission and population transfer by blackbody radiation. No evidence for collective decay is found at atom densities up to $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. This result is in contrast to a previous study [Wang et al., Phys. Rev. A 75, 033802 (2007)], in which superradiant decay was theoretically predicted and experimentally inferred for atom density and laser focal volume conditions very similar to those considered here. Suppression of collective emission is likely due to variations in transition energies within the atom sample, dominated by inhomogeneities in dipole-dipole exchange interactions for initial sss states, or by a combination of dipole-dipole and electric field inhomogeneities for the initial ppp states.
We have developed a simple theoretical model describing multi-atom signals that could be measured in experiments on resonant energy transfers in an ensemble of a few Rydberg atoms. We have shown that an efficiency of the selective field-ionization detector, which is less than 1, leads to the mixing up of the spectra of the resonant energy transfer registered for various numbers of detected Rydberg atoms. This may impede the possible observations of dipole blockade or coherent two-atom interaction required to perform basic quantum gates. The formulae are presented, which help to estimate an actual mean Rydberg atom number in an excitation volume per one exciting laser pulse at a given detection efficiency. We have also found that a measurement of relationship of the amplitudes of resonances observed in the one- and two-atom signals provides a straightforward determination of the absolute detection efficiency and actual mean Rydberg atom number. This novel method is advantageous as it is independent of the specific experimental conditions. We also performed a testing experiment on the resonant energy transfers in a small excitation volume of the velocity selected Na atomic beam. The observed one- and two-atom resonances were analyzed and compared with the theoretical predictions. A good agreement between experiment and theory in the width and amplitudes of the resonances has confirmed the validity of simple approximations used in the developed theoretical model.
We present the experimental realization and characterization of a Ramsey interferometer based on optically trapped ultracold potassium atoms, where one state is continuously coupled by an off-resonant laser field to a highly excited Rydberg state. We show that the observed interference signals can be used to precisely measure the Rydberg atom-light coupling strength as well as the population and coherence decay rates of the Rydberg-dressed states with subkilohertz accuracy and for Rydberg state fractions as small as one part in 10^{6}. We also demonstrate an application for measuring small, static electric fields with high sensitivity. This provides the means to combine the outstanding coherence properties of Ramsey interferometers based on atomic ground states with a controllable coupling to strongly interacting states, thus expanding the number of systems suitable for metrological applications and many-body physics studies.