Chaotic transport in Rydberg atoms, trapping in molecules

Giulio Casati

Ilango Maran, Liam J. Bond, Jeremy T. Young +2 more

We study the occurrence of Rydberg atom-ion molecules (RAIMs) in a hybrid atom-ion system with an ion crystal trapped in a Paul trap coupled to Rydberg atoms on its either ends. To assess the feasibility of such a system, we perform a detailed Floquet analysis of the effect of the Paul trap's rf potential on the RAIMs and provide a qualitative analysis of the survival probability based on scaling laws. We conclude that the RAIM survives for sufficiently weak and low-frequency traps. We then use this hybrid system and propose a scheme to utilize the common motional modes of the ion crystal to suppress (blockade) or enhance (antiblockade) the probability of forming two RAIMs at the ends of the chain, replacing the typical blockade radius by the length of the ion crystal.

H. Held, Joerg Schlichter, HERBERT WALTHER

David Alexander Anderson

In this dissertation I investigate cold Rydberg atoms and molecules in which the angular-momentum character of the quantum states involved strongly influences their properties and dynamics. In the first part I focus on long-range diatomic Rydberg molecules formed by a rubidium D-state Rydberg atom and a second rubidium atom in its ground state. Spectroscopic measurements of molecular binding energies are presented showing the effect of the Rydberg atom size and fine-structure coupling on the molecular potentials. A theoretical model is introduced that takes into account all relevant angular-momentum couplings between the molecular constituents, successfully reproducing experimental observations. Calculations of adiabatic potentials and binding energies, molecular-state lifetimes, electric and magnetic dipole moments are also presented. In the second part, I describe the production and magnetic trapping of cold circular Rydberg atoms. The circular Rydberg atoms are generated out of a cold gas of rubidium using the crossed-fields method and magnetically trapped. The trapping force is employed to induce center-of-mass oscillations of the trapped atom sample. Trap parameters and observed oscillation frequencies are used to measure the magnetic moments of the circular Rydberg atoms. Trap losses and the atomic internal-state evolution in the 300 Kelvin thermal background are also investigated.

Seiler, Christian

This thesis describes contributions to the development of a new method to control the translational motion of atoms and molecules in supersonic beams.This method, Rydberg-Stark deceleration, is in principle applicable to all atoms and molecules in the gas phase.It relies on the Stark effect exhibited by Rydberg states and enables the production of samples of translationally and internally cold atoms and molecules which have possible applications in high-resolution spectroscopic experiments, in the studies of collisions at low temperatures and in quantum information science.This method has been developed and tested in deceleration and trapping experiments on hydrogen and deuterium atoms, and hydrogen molecules initially moving in supersonic beams.Its power originates from the large dipole moments, easily exceeding 1000 Debye, induced in Rydberg states by electric fields.Large forces are exerted on Rydberg atoms and molecules

Philippe Hyafil, M. Brune