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arXiv:1801.02694 · Physical Review A

Microwave-optical two-photon excitation of Rydberg states

Duncan Tate, Thomas F. Gallagher

Published Mar 23, 2018• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report efficient microwave-optical two photon excitation of Rb Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap. This approach allows the excitation of normally inaccessible states and provides a path toward excitation of high-angular-momentum states. The efficiency stems from the elimination of the Doppler width, the use of a narrow-band pulsed laser, and the enormous electric-dipole matrix element connecting the intermediate and final states of the transition. The excitation is efficient in spite of the low optical and microwave powers, of order 1 kW and 1 mW, respectively. This is an application of the large dipole coupling strengths between Rydberg states to achieve two-photon excitation of Rydberg atoms.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.97.033410

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We report efficient microwave-optical two photon excitation of Rb Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap. This approach allows the excitation of normally inaccessible states and provides a path toward excitation of high-angular-momentum states. The efficiency stems from the elimination of the Doppler width, the use of a narrow-band pulsed laser, and the enormous electric-dipole matrix element connecting the intermediate and final states of the transition. The excitation is efficient in spite of the low optical and microwave powers, of order 1 kW and 1 mW, respectively. This is an application of the large dipole coupling strengths between Rydberg states to achieve two-photon excitation of Rydberg atoms.
Resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between cold Rydberg atoms were observed using microwave spectroscopy. Laser-cooled 85Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap were optically excited to 45d(5/2) Rydberg states using a pulsed laser. A microwave pulse transferred a fraction of these Rydberg atoms to the 46p(3/2) state. A second microwave pulse then drove atoms in the 45d(5/2) state to the 46d(5/2) state, and was used as a probe of interatomic interactions. The spectral width of this two-photon probe transition was found to depend on the presence of the 46p(3/2) atoms, and is due to the resonant electric dipole-dipole interaction between 45d(5/2) and 46p(3/2) Rydberg atoms.
Laser-cooled 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb atoms were optically excited to 46d5∕246{d}_{5∕2}46d5∕2​ Rydberg states. A microwave pulse transferred a fraction of the atoms to the 47p3∕247{p}_{3∕2}47p3∕2​ Rydberg state. The resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between atoms in these two states were probed using the linewidth of the two-photon microwave transition $46{d}_{5∕2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}47{d}_{5∕2}$. The presence of a weak magnetic field $\ensuremath{\approx}0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$ reduced the observed line broadening, indicating that the interaction is suppressed by the field. The field removes some of the energy degeneracies responsible for the resonant interaction, and this is the basis for a quantitative model of the resulting suppression. A technique for the calibration of magnetic field strengths using the $34{s}_{1∕2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}34{p}_{1∕2}$ one-photon transition is also presented.
We present our experimental results of two-photon laser excitation 5S1/2→5P3/2→nS1/2 of Rb atoms to Rydberg nS1/2 states with a homemade 480 nm laser in the second excitation step. In an experiment with cold Rb atoms, we excited the 42S1/2 state and detected Rydberg atoms with a selective-field-ionization (SFI) detector that provides single-atom resolution. The resonance line shapes well agreed with numerical simulations in a three-level theoretical model. We also studied the multiatom spectra of Rydberg excitation of mesoscopic atom ensembles which are of interest to quantum information processing. In the experiment with hot Rb atoms, we first excited the 30S1/2 state and observed a narrow Rydberg EIT resonance. Its line shape also agreed well with theory. Then, we performed a similar experiment with the higher 41S1/2 state and observed the Autler–Townes splitting of the EIT resonance in the presence of a microwave field, which was in resonance with the microwave transition 41S→41P3/2. This allowed us to measure the average strength of the microwave field and, thus, demonstrate the operation of a Rydberg microwave sensor. We may conclude that the developed homemade laser at 480 nm substantially extends our capabilities for further experiments on quantum information and quantum sensing with Rydberg atoms.
The dipole-dipole broadening of $ns\ensuremath{-}np$ microwave transitions of cold Rb Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap has been recorded for $28\ensuremath{\leqslant}n\ensuremath{\leqslant}51$. Since the electric dipole transition matrix elements scale as n2{n}^{2}n2, a broadening rate scaling as n4{n}^{4}n4 is expected and a broadening rate of $8.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}15}{n}^{4}$ MHz cm3{}^{3}3 is observed. The observed broadening is smaller than expected from a classical picture due to the spin-orbit interaction in the npnpnp atoms. The broadened resonances are asymmetric and cusp shaped, and their line shapes can be reproduced by a diatomic model which takes into account the dipole-dipole interaction, including the spin-orbit interaction, the strengths of the allowed microwave transitions, and the distribution of the atomic spacings in the trap.
Three-photon laser excitation of single rubidium atoms in an optical dipole trap (ODT) into the37P Rydberg state by laser radiation with wavelengths of 780, 1367, and 743 nm has been experimentally demonstrated. The excitation to Rydberg states is detected by an optical method using the losses of atoms in the ODT. The laser excitation spectra of single Rydberg atoms in the ODT are recorded, and the dependence of the excitation probability on the laser pulse duration is measured. The measured spectrum width was 2MHz. Experiments on fluorescence quenching spectroscopy of a cloud of cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap during the three-photon laser excitation of atoms to Rydberg states are also carried out. The experimental results are compared with a numerical calculation. Methods for increasing the accuracy of the coherent three-photon laser excitation of Rydberg atoms in the ODT are considered.
Abstract Three-photon laser excitation of single rubidium atoms in an optical dipole trap (ODT) into the 37P Rydberg state by laser radiation with wavelengths of 780, 1367, and 743 nm has been experimentally demonstrated. The excitation to Rydberg states is detected by an optical method using the losses of atoms in the ODT. The laser excitation spectra of single Rydberg atoms in the ODT are recorded, and the dependence of the excitation probability on the laser pulse duration is measured. The measured spectrum width was 2 MHz. Experiments on fluorescence quenching spectroscopy of a cloud of cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap during the three-photon laser excitation of atoms to Rydberg states are also carried out. The experimental results are compared with a numerical calculation. Methods for increasing the accuracy of the coherent three-photon laser excitation of Rydberg atoms in the ODT are considered.