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Atom chip setup for cold Rydberg atom experiments

Arne Schwettmann

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The design, construction and characterization of an atom chip apparatus for cold Rydberg atom experiments with 87Rb is presented. The apparatus is designed to investigate interactions between Rydberg atoms and the nearby chip surface, as well as the dynamics of Rydberg atoms in a double well. The proposed interrogation scheme is Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (Rydberg EIT). Magnetic trapping potentials used to load the chip with atoms are calculated. The atom number and temperature during various phases of the loading sequence are measured using absorption imaging. The room-temperature 4-level ladder-type Rydberg EIT system, in which the 3-level Rydberg EIT system is coupled via microwaves to a second Rydberg state, is investigated experimentally. EIT transmission spectra for different microwave powers and different polarizations of optical fields and microwaves are presented. It is shown that, to explain the observed polarization effects in the probe transmission lineshape, all magnetic sublevels, including the hyperfine structure of both Rydberg levels, have to be taken into account. The corresponding 52-level theory is discussed. Calculations of long-range multipolar Rydberg-atom Rydberg-atom interaction potentials are also presented and discussed.

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An apparatus for studying interactions between Rydberg atoms and metal surfaces

Jeffrey David Carter

A system suitable for studying interactions between ⁸⁷Rb Rydberg atoms and metal surfaces has been constructed. This thesis describes the design and construction of the apparatus, and some test results. Atoms in a vapor cell magneto-optical trap are transferred to a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap, where they will be RF evaporatively cooled and loaded into a magnetic microtrap (atom chip). Confinement of cold clouds at controllable distances (5–200 μm)} from a metal surface is possible. The effects of atom-surface interactions can be studied with Rydberg atom spectroscopy. \n \nSome functionality of the apparatus has been demonstrated. Approximately 1.5×10⁷ atoms were loaded into a mirror MOT, and about 6×10⁶ atoms were optically pumped to the |F=2, m_F=2> hyperfine ground state and confined in a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap. The temperature of the cloud in the trap was 42 ± 5 μK, and the 1/e lifetime is 1–1.5 s. Forced RF evaporation has been used to measure the magnetic field at the trap minimum, but RF evaporative cooling has not yet been demonstrated.

•Sep 27, 2007•1 citation

Electromagnetically induced transparency and absorption cross-over with a four-level Rydberg system

Yağız Oyun, Özgür Çakır, S. Sevinçli

Abstract Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) are quantum coherence phenomena which result from the interference of excitation pathways. Combining these with Rydberg atoms have opened up many possibilities for various applications. We introduce a theoretical model to study Rydberg-EIT and Rydberg-EIA effects in cold Cs and Rb atomic ensembles in a four-level ladder type scheme taking into account van der Waals type interactions between the atoms. The proposed many-body method for analysis of such systems involves a self-consistent mean field approach and it produces results which display a very good agreement with recent experiments. Our calculations also successfully demonstrate experimentally observed EIT-EIA cross-over in the Rb case. Being able to simulate the interaction effects in such systems has significant importance, especially for controlling the optical response of these.

arXiv:2109.12916•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•May 17, 2022•5 citations

Electromagnetically induced transparency with Rydberg atoms across the Breit-Rabi regime

Julian B. Naber, Atreju Tauschinsky, Ben van Linden van den Heuvell +1 more

We present experimental results on the influence of magnetic fields and laser polarization on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using Rydberg levels of ^{87} 87 Rb atoms. The measurements are performed in a room temperature vapor cell with two counter-propagating laser beams at 480 m and 780 m in a ladder-type energy level scheme. We measure the EIT spectrum of a range of ns_{1/2} n s 1 / 2 Rydberg states for n=19-27 n = 19 − 27 , where the hyperfine structure can still be resolved. Our measurements span the range of magnetic fields from the low field linear Zeeman regime to the high field Paschen-Back regimes. The observed spectra are very sensitive to small changes in magnetic fields and the polarization of the laser beams. We model our observations using optical Bloch equations that take into account the full multi-level structure of the atomic states involved and the decoupling of the electronic J J and nuclear I I angular momenta in the Breit-Rabi regime. The numerical model yields excellent agreement with the observations. In addition to EIT related experiments, our results are relevant for experiments involving coherent excitation to Rydberg levels in the presence of magnetic fields.

arXiv:1606.08260•SciPost Physics•Apr 25, 2017•15 citations

High resolution electromagnetically induced transparency spectroscopy of Rydberg ^87Rb atom in a magnetic field

Hong Cheng, H. M. Wang, S. S. Zhang +3 more

We have studied the high resolution spectroscopy of Rydberg state 87Rb in a ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) configuration at room temperature. A highly excited Rydberg atom is nearly degenerate for its hyperfine states but this degeneracy will be broken by an applied magnetic field, resulting in a spectral splitting in a coupled basis. In our ladder-type EIT experiment, we observed the high resolution spectral splitting of Rydberg atoms in an external magnetic field with two different optical polarization combinations of σ+ − σ+ and σ+ − σ− for probe and coupling laser beams. A strict theory has been set up to explain the observed spectral line position and intensity accurately considering the Zeeman effects of three EIT-concerned states all in the coupled basis. Specially for the Rydberg state, we can transform its wavefunction back into the decoupled basis for the spectral line assignment.

Optics Express•Dec 22, 2017•25 citations

Interactions of cold Rydberg atoms and metallic surfaces

Bo Yang, Bo Zhang, Zilong Liu +1 more

Abstract We theoretically propose that electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with cold Rydberg atoms in the proximity to a metallic chip surface can be applied to detect and investigate the Casimir–Polder effect. The absorption spectrum of the probe laser is numerically computed by the Monte Carlo method, taking into account atom-surface interactions (Casimir–Polder effect). The results show that the Casimir–Polder effect shifts the energy level of the Rydberg state and leads to a shift in the EIT transparency window. The shift of resonant frequency depends on the principal quantum number, atom-surface distance and atomic density. The atom-surface interactions have observable impacts on the nonlinear optic response of the ‘Rydberg EIT medium’ near atom chips.

Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Feb 12, 2019•2 citations

Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency in a large Hilbert space

Yongmei Xue, Liping Hao, Yuechun Jiao +4 more

We study Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of cesium atoms in a magnetic field. The ladder level scheme consists of ground ($6{S}_{1/2}$), excited ($6{P}_{3/2}$), and Rydberg ($48{D}_{5/2}$) levels. The relevant 96 relevant magnetic sublevels are coupled to each other via coherent coupling and decay. A quantum Monte Carlo wave-function (QMCWF) approach is employed to solve the quantum master equation. The simulated EIT probe-absorption spectra and their magnetic-field dependence are compared with results of a cold-atom experiment, in which we perform an in situ, atom-based measurement of a rapidly decaying eddy-current magnetic field. The EIT spectrum in the magnetic field has two dominant lines with a Zeeman splitting of 5.6 MHz per gauss, which are employed to measure the magnetic field. The QMCWF results show good agreement with the experiment, exhibit additional spectroscopic features, and provide insights into the optical-pumping dynamics, radiation-pressure effects, and the relation of these phenomena with the EIT behavior.

Physical Review A•May 30, 2019•17 citations
The design, construction and characterization of an atom chip apparatus for cold Rydberg atom experiments with 87Rb is presented. The apparatus is designed to investigate interactions between Rydberg atoms and the nearby chip surface, as well as the dynamics of Rydberg atoms in a double well. The proposed interrogation scheme is Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (Rydberg EIT). Magnetic trapping potentials used to load the chip with atoms are calculated. The atom number and temperature during various phases of the loading sequence are measured using absorption imaging. The room-temperature 4-level ladder-type Rydberg EIT system, in which the 3-level Rydberg EIT system is coupled via microwaves to a second Rydberg state, is investigated experimentally. EIT transmission spectra for different microwave powers and different polarizations of optical fields and microwaves are presented. It is shown that, to explain the observed polarization effects in the probe transmission lineshape, all magnetic sublevels, including the hyperfine structure of both Rydberg levels, have to be taken into account. The corresponding 52-level theory is discussed. Calculations of long-range multipolar Rydberg-atom Rydberg-atom interaction potentials are also presented and discussed.
A system suitable for studying interactions between ⁸⁷Rb Rydberg atoms and metal surfaces has been constructed. This thesis describes the design and construction of the apparatus, and some test results. Atoms in a vapor cell magneto-optical trap are transferred to a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap, where they will be RF evaporatively cooled and loaded into a magnetic microtrap (atom chip). Confinement of cold clouds at controllable distances (5–200 μm)} from a metal surface is possible. The effects of atom-surface interactions can be studied with Rydberg atom spectroscopy. \n \nSome functionality of the apparatus has been demonstrated. Approximately 1.5×10⁷ atoms were loaded into a mirror MOT, and about 6×10⁶ atoms were optically pumped to the |F=2, m_F=2> hyperfine ground state and confined in a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap. The temperature of the cloud in the trap was 42 ± 5 μK, and the 1/e lifetime is 1–1.5 s. Forced RF evaporation has been used to measure the magnetic field at the trap minimum, but RF evaporative cooling has not yet been demonstrated.
Abstract Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) are quantum coherence phenomena which result from the interference of excitation pathways. Combining these with Rydberg atoms have opened up many possibilities for various applications. We introduce a theoretical model to study Rydberg-EIT and Rydberg-EIA effects in cold Cs and Rb atomic ensembles in a four-level ladder type scheme taking into account van der Waals type interactions between the atoms. The proposed many-body method for analysis of such systems involves a self-consistent mean field approach and it produces results which display a very good agreement with recent experiments. Our calculations also successfully demonstrate experimentally observed EIT-EIA cross-over in the Rb case. Being able to simulate the interaction effects in such systems has significant importance, especially for controlling the optical response of these.
We present experimental results on the influence of magnetic fields and laser polarization on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using Rydberg levels of ^{87} 87 Rb atoms. The measurements are performed in a room temperature vapor cell with two counter-propagating laser beams at 480 m and 780 m in a ladder-type energy level scheme. We measure the EIT spectrum of a range of ns_{1/2} n s 1 / 2 Rydberg states for n=19-27 n = 19 − 27 , where the hyperfine structure can still be resolved. Our measurements span the range of magnetic fields from the low field linear Zeeman regime to the high field Paschen-Back regimes. The observed spectra are very sensitive to small changes in magnetic fields and the polarization of the laser beams. We model our observations using optical Bloch equations that take into account the full multi-level structure of the atomic states involved and the decoupling of the electronic J J and nuclear I I angular momenta in the Breit-Rabi regime. The numerical model yields excellent agreement with the observations. In addition to EIT related experiments, our results are relevant for experiments involving coherent excitation to Rydberg levels in the presence of magnetic fields.
We have studied the high resolution spectroscopy of Rydberg state 87Rb in a ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) configuration at room temperature. A highly excited Rydberg atom is nearly degenerate for its hyperfine states but this degeneracy will be broken by an applied magnetic field, resulting in a spectral splitting in a coupled basis. In our ladder-type EIT experiment, we observed the high resolution spectral splitting of Rydberg atoms in an external magnetic field with two different optical polarization combinations of σ+ − σ+ and σ+ − σ− for probe and coupling laser beams. A strict theory has been set up to explain the observed spectral line position and intensity accurately considering the Zeeman effects of three EIT-concerned states all in the coupled basis. Specially for the Rydberg state, we can transform its wavefunction back into the decoupled basis for the spectral line assignment.
Abstract We theoretically propose that electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with cold Rydberg atoms in the proximity to a metallic chip surface can be applied to detect and investigate the Casimir–Polder effect. The absorption spectrum of the probe laser is numerically computed by the Monte Carlo method, taking into account atom-surface interactions (Casimir–Polder effect). The results show that the Casimir–Polder effect shifts the energy level of the Rydberg state and leads to a shift in the EIT transparency window. The shift of resonant frequency depends on the principal quantum number, atom-surface distance and atomic density. The atom-surface interactions have observable impacts on the nonlinear optic response of the ‘Rydberg EIT medium’ near atom chips.
We study Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of cesium atoms in a magnetic field. The ladder level scheme consists of ground (6S1/26{S}_{1/2}6S1/2​), excited (6P3/26{P}_{3/2}6P3/2​), and Rydberg (48D5/248{D}_{5/2}48D5/2​) levels. The relevant 96 relevant magnetic sublevels are coupled to each other via coherent coupling and decay. A quantum Monte Carlo wave-function (QMCWF) approach is employed to solve the quantum master equation. The simulated EIT probe-absorption spectra and their magnetic-field dependence are compared with results of a cold-atom experiment, in which we perform an in situ, atom-based measurement of a rapidly decaying eddy-current magnetic field. The EIT spectrum in the magnetic field has two dominant lines with a Zeeman splitting of 5.6 MHz per gauss, which are employed to measure the magnetic field. The QMCWF results show good agreement with the experiment, exhibit additional spectroscopic features, and provide insights into the optical-pumping dynamics, radiation-pressure effects, and the relation of these phenomena with the EIT behavior.