Use of Microwave Dressing Fields to Enhance Rydberg Atom Interactions
Joseph A. Petrus
Abstract
A microwave dressing field was used to induce resonant energy transfer in translationally cold Rydberg atoms. The Rb Rydberg atoms were obtained by laser excitation of cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap. When the amplitude of a 1.356 GHz dressing field was scanned, the two-atom dipole-dipole process 43d5/2 + 43d5/2 → 45p3/2 + 41f5/2,7/2 was enhanced due to the induced degeneracy of the initial and final states. The resulting spectrum had a series of resonant field amplitudes corresponding to different magnetic sublevels possible for the states involved. The scanned field amplitude was calibrated using microwave spectroscopy of the 43d5/2− 41f transition under the influence of non-resonant dressing fields. The calibrated resonant field amplitudes agree well with ac Stark shift calculations performed using the Floquet approach. This method for enhancing interactions is complementary to dc electric field induced resonant energy transfer, but benefits from the ability to shift energy levels in either direction by choice in frequency.