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Physical Review A

Controlled many-body interactions in a frozen Rydberg gas

I. Mourachko, Wenhui Li, Thomas F. Gallagher

Published Sep 13, 2004• 54 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Previous resonant dipole-dipole energy-transfer experiments of cold Rydberg gases [Anderson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 249 (1998); Mourachko et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 253 (1998)] have been interpreted as providing evidence of many-body, as opposed to purely binary, effects. Here we separate two-body and many-body interactions by introducing an additional Rydberg state, which does not participate directly in the energy-transfer process, but is strongly coupled to one of the final states. We observe broadening of the energy-transfer resonances due to this added Rydberg state, which clearly demonstrates the many-body nature of the dipole-dipole interactions in such a system.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.70.031401

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Cold Rydberg atoms trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are not isolated and they interact through dipole-dipole and multipole-multipole interactions. First-order dipole-dipole interactions and van der Waals interactions between two atoms have been intensively studied. However, the facts that the first-order dipole-dipole interactions and van der Waals interactions show the same size of broadening [A. Reinhard, K. C. Younge, T. C. Liebisch, B. Knuffman, P. R. Berman, and G. Raithel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 233201 (2008)] and there are transitions between two dimer states [S. M. Farooqi, D. Tong, S. Krishnan, J. Stanojevic, Y. P. Zhang, J. R. Ensher, A. S. Estrin, C. Boisseau, R. Cote, E. E. Eyler, and P. L. Gould, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 183002 (2003); K. R. Overstreet, Arne Schwettmann, Jonathan Tallant, and James P. Shaffer, Phys. Rev. A 76, 011403(R) (2007)] cannot be explained by the two-atom picture. The purpose of this article is to show the few-body nature of a dense cold Rydberg gas by studying the molecular-state microwave spectra. Specifically, three-body energy levels have been calculated. Moreover, the transition from three-body energy levels to two-body coupled molecular energy levels and to isolated atomic energy levels as a function of the internuclear spacing is studied. Finally, single-body, two-body, and three-body interaction regions are estimated according to the experimental data. The results reported here provides useful information for plasma formation, further cooling, and superfluid formation.

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Resonant Dipole-Dipole Energy Transfer Dynamics in a Frozen Rydberg Gas

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The dipole-dipole interaction strongly couples ultracold highly excited atoms, known as Rydberg atoms, and is the dominant mechanism for energy exchange among such atoms on microsecond time scales. I present the results of experiments that investigate this interaction using rubidium atoms excited to Rydberg states with an all-diode laser system. In the first of these, high resolution dipole-dipole interaction spectra for different magnetic sublevels of the 32d5/2 state are collected and analyzed. In the second experiment, ultracold rubidium atoms are implusively excited to coherent superpositions of three closely spaced |mj|sublevels of the 32d5/2 state in a weak electric field. The magnitude of the field sets the energy level spacing between these states, and hence the frequency of the phase dependent oscillations resulting from interference in resonant energy exchange processes. In the third experiment, the dipole-dipole interaction induced resonant energy exchange between columns of ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms is imaged using a new technique involving selective field ionization with a spatially sensitive ion detector.

•Jan 1, 2014•0 citations
Previous resonant dipole-dipole energy-transfer experiments of cold Rydberg gases [Anderson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 249 (1998); Mourachko et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 253 (1998)] have been interpreted as providing evidence of many-body, as opposed to purely binary, effects. Here we separate two-body and many-body interactions by introducing an additional Rydberg state, which does not participate directly in the energy-transfer process, but is strongly coupled to one of the final states. We observe broadening of the energy-transfer resonances due to this added Rydberg state, which clearly demonstrates the many-body nature of the dipole-dipole interactions in such a system.
Abstract : We investigate here the characteristics of energy resonant dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg atoms in Magneto-Optical Trap. These resonant processes occur in a kinetic energy regime in which the atoms may be considered stationary over the time scale of the experiment. Coupled with the long range of the interactions considered, this leads to multi-atom interactions becoming non-negligible. A simple model is outlined to provide insight into the effects of these multi-atom interactions which lead to some interesting behaviors. Experiments which examine the broadening of the dipole-dipole resonances and observe the time dependence of the interaction signal are discussed. Examination of adiabatic character of population transfer caused by slewing across the resonance is discussed in another experiment, as is the scaling behavior of the resonance linewidths and on-resonant signal growth rates. We end by discussing an experiment which takes advantage of some of the characteristics of these interactions to measure the tensor polarizability of Rydberg states of Rb.
We have observed resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms in spatially separated cylinders. Resonant dipole-dipole coupling excites the 49s atoms in one cylinder to the 49p state while the 41d atoms in the second cylinder are transferred down to the 42p state. We have measured the production of the 49p state as a function of separation of the cylinders (0-80 microm) and the interaction time (0-25 micros). In addition, we measured the width of the electric field resonances. A full many-body quantum calculation reproduces the main features of the experiments.
We have observed the process $\mathrm{Rb}ns+\mathrm{Rb}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}ns+2h\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{Rb}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}n{p}_{1/2}+\mathrm{Rb}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}n{p}_{3/2}$ from n=34n=34n=34 to n=40n=40n=40 in a frozen gas of Rb Rydberg atoms. It is resonant when the microwave frequency is halfway between the $ns\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}n{p}_{1/2}$ and $ns\ensuremath{\rightarrow}n{p}_{3/2}$ frequencies, which range from 57 to 106 GHz. The process cannot occur in isolated atoms, nor can it occur if the magnetic quantum numbers are unchanged, an implicit assumption of one-dimensional models. A Floquet-Forster model shows that the coupling between the initial and final states involves the absorption of two microwave photons and the dipole-dipole interaction, which leads to a coupling proportional to the product of the density, the microwave field squared, and n∗14{n}^{*14}n∗14, where n∗{n}^{*}n∗ is the effective quantum number of the np3/2n{p}_{3/2}np3/2​ state. We have experimentally verified these dependences. The observed resonances are asymmetric, with a low-frequency tail, which we attribute to the van der Waals shift of the final np1/2np3/2n{p}_{1/2}n{p}_{3/2}np1/2​np3/2​ state due to its dipole-dipole interaction with the nearby ns(n+1)sns(n+1)sns(n+1)s state. While the van der Waals shift is negligible for most of the atoms in the Rydberg gas, it is not for the pairs of close atoms which undergo this transition.
Cold Rydberg atoms trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are not isolated and they interact through dipole-dipole and multipole-multipole interactions. First-order dipole-dipole interactions and van der Waals interactions between two atoms have been intensively studied. However, the facts that the first-order dipole-dipole interactions and van der Waals interactions show the same size of broadening [A. Reinhard, K. C. Younge, T. C. Liebisch, B. Knuffman, P. R. Berman, and G. Raithel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 233201 (2008)] and there are transitions between two dimer states [S. M. Farooqi, D. Tong, S. Krishnan, J. Stanojevic, Y. P. Zhang, J. R. Ensher, A. S. Estrin, C. Boisseau, R. Cote, E. E. Eyler, and P. L. Gould, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 183002 (2003); K. R. Overstreet, Arne Schwettmann, Jonathan Tallant, and James P. Shaffer, Phys. Rev. A 76, 011403(R) (2007)] cannot be explained by the two-atom picture. The purpose of this article is to show the few-body nature of a dense cold Rydberg gas by studying the molecular-state microwave spectra. Specifically, three-body energy levels have been calculated. Moreover, the transition from three-body energy levels to two-body coupled molecular energy levels and to isolated atomic energy levels as a function of the internuclear spacing is studied. Finally, single-body, two-body, and three-body interaction regions are estimated according to the experimental data. The results reported here provides useful information for plasma formation, further cooling, and superfluid formation.
The dipole-dipole interaction strongly couples ultracold highly excited atoms, known as Rydberg atoms, and is the dominant mechanism for energy exchange among such atoms on microsecond time scales. I present the results of experiments that investigate this interaction using rubidium atoms excited to Rydberg states with an all-diode laser system. In the first of these, high resolution dipole-dipole interaction spectra for different magnetic sublevels of the 32d5/2 state are collected and analyzed. In the second experiment, ultracold rubidium atoms are implusively excited to coherent superpositions of three closely spaced |mj|sublevels of the 32d5/2 state in a weak electric field. The magnitude of the field sets the energy level spacing between these states, and hence the frequency of the phase dependent oscillations resulting from interference in resonant energy exchange processes. In the third experiment, the dipole-dipole interaction induced resonant energy exchange between columns of ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms is imaged using a new technique involving selective field ionization with a spatially sensitive ion detector.