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Physical Review A

Destruction of high- n ( n∼300 ) Rydberg atoms in Rydberg-Rydberg collisions

G. Fields, F. B. Dunning, S. Yoshida, Joachim Burgdörfer

Published Feb 26, 2019• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The destruction of high-$n, n\ensuremath{\sim}300$, strontium atoms contained in a hot atomic beam through Rydberg-Rydberg collisions is examined. The Rydberg atoms are initially created, under blockade conditions, in a localized volume and their subsequent motions lead to creation of a string of Rydberg atoms. The Rydberg atoms, however, are formed with a thermal distribution of velocities resulting in Rydberg-Rydberg collisions which lead to their destruction. The experimental data are interpreted using classical trajectory Monte Carlo techniques that simulate the excitation of the Rydberg atoms together with their subsequent motions. Using calculated collisional ionization cross sections and blockade radii, the model yields results in good agreement with experiment. The results highlight the important role collisional destruction can play when attempting to study (long-range) Rydberg-Rydberg interactions in a hot atomic beam.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.99.022710

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Physical Review A•Nov 23, 2015•12 citations
The destruction of high-n,n\ensuremath∼300n, n\ensuremath{\sim}300n,n\ensuremath∼300, strontium atoms contained in a hot atomic beam through Rydberg-Rydberg collisions is examined. The Rydberg atoms are initially created, under blockade conditions, in a localized volume and their subsequent motions lead to creation of a string of Rydberg atoms. The Rydberg atoms, however, are formed with a thermal distribution of velocities resulting in Rydberg-Rydberg collisions which lead to their destruction. The experimental data are interpreted using classical trajectory Monte Carlo techniques that simulate the excitation of the Rydberg atoms together with their subsequent motions. Using calculated collisional ionization cross sections and blockade radii, the model yields results in good agreement with experiment. The results highlight the important role collisional destruction can play when attempting to study (long-range) Rydberg-Rydberg interactions in a hot atomic beam.
Rydberg atoms are increasingly being used as a means of introducing long-range, tunable interactions into atomic systems through their strong dipole-dipole interactions. When creating such interactions, however, there are a variety of potential effects that can occur, such as state (n and/or L) changing or Penning ionization, which can complicate the dynamics of the system. In the following work, such interactions are investigated for Rydberg-Rydberg collisions using very high-n, n ~300, strontium Rydberg atoms in an atomic beam configuration. By exploiting Rydberg blockade and the inherent distribution of atomic velocities present in an atomic beam, it is possible to create a 1D array of moving Rydberg atoms which will naturally overtake each other over time. Measurements of both Penning ionization and state changing for such collisions are made and compared with classical trajectory Monte-Carlo (CTMC) simulations, with both indicating large collisional cross sections on the order of 1 x 10-6 cm2 for Penning ionization and nearly 8 x 10-5 cm2 for state changing interactions. In a second series of experiments, previous work involving doubly-excited Rydberg states is expanded upon by investigating autoionization with high-n, L > 3, Rydberg states. Past research involving autoionization has shown that the effect is strongly L-dependent, with high-L states having significantly smaller autoionizing rates. To create well-defined, L > 3 states, the use of microwave fields to drive various high-n, n ~ 150, n1F3 → (n+1)1G4, (n+2)1H5 transitions is investigated, with spectroscopic measurements of these transitions providing quantum defect values for n1G4 and n1H5 states. These measurements provide a basis for future studies into the L-dependence of high-n, n ~ 300, autoionizing Rydberg atoms, with the eventual goal of creating a long-lived, doubly-excited “planetary” Rydberg state.
Highly excited Rydberg states, neutral atomic states with one or more electrons promoted to states of large principal quantum number n are now commonly used for producing quantum entanglement. This is facilitated through the "Rydberg Blockade" effect where the presence of a single Rydberg atom blocks excitation of further atoms in a surrounding mesoscopic volume due to strong atom-atom interactions induced by the large dipole moments associated with Rydberg atoms. In this work, we report the first observation of this phenomenon in a hot atomic beam using very high n, n ~300 - 500, strontium nF Rydberg states. Inside the blockaded volume (size around 0.1mm), the Rydberg number distribution is sub-Poissonian. However, as predicted by theoretical calculations, due to the anisotropic nature of the atom-atom interactions, the blockade is incomplete. However, the blockade effect is sufficiently strong to enable detailed study of few-body atom-atom interactions and of entanglement. Doubly-excited Rydberg states having a pair of electrons excited to high lying energy levels are typically difficult to create and are short lived because of "autoionization" resulting from electron-electron scattering. Strontium Rydberg atoms are used to study this scattering and we demonstrate an efficient mechanism to eliminate "autoionization" pointing to the production of long-lived strongly correlated two-electron-excited atomic states.
The dipole blockade of very-high-$n, n\ensuremath{\sim}300$, strontium 5snf1F35snf{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{F}_{3}5snf1F3​ Rydberg atoms in a hot atomic beam is studied. For such high nnn, the blockade radius can exceed the linear dimensions of the excitation volume. Rydberg atoms formed inside the excitation volume can, upon leaving the region, continue to suppress excitation until they have moved farther away than the blockade radius. Moreover, the high density of states originating from the many magnetic sublevels associated with the FFF states results in a small but finite probability of excitation of L=3n1F3L=3\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}n{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{F}_{3}L=3n1F3​ atom pairs at small internuclear separations below the blockade radius. We demonstrate that these effects can be distinguished from one another by the distinct features they imprint on the Mandel QQQ parameter as a function of the duration of the exciting laser.
Highly excited (Rydberg) atoms are produced and can exist for significant periods of time in various plasma environments. It is necessary to know cross sections for the various collision processes involving these atoms if a complete understanding of the physics of these environments is to be attained.\nThe experimental investigation of collisional phenomena between high Rydberg sodium atoms and electrons is described in this thesis. A fraction of the atoms in a ground state sodium beam is optically excited (using lasers) to well-defined, high Rydberg states (principal quantum numbers chosen around 40). Subsequent to their production the Rydberg atoms are allowed to interact with 25 eV electrons for a specified time interval following which the collision products are detected. The electrons are produced in a beam which is crossed at right angles with the sodium beam. Important collision processes are (1) electron impact ionization of the Rydberg atom, and (2) electron-Rydberg atom interactions in which the quantum state of the atom is changed (state changing collisions).\nResults are presented for an observed state changing process which is identified as angular momentum state changing only (no change in the value of the principal quantum number). Cross sections for this process are measured to be 10('-10) to 10('-9) cm('2). Problems encountered during the work which prevented the measurement of electron impact ionization cross sections are discussed. In the course of the work two other topics required study: (1) the process of electric field ionization of Rydberg atoms (used to detect the atoms), and (2) the effects of background (300 K) radiation (from the chamber walls, for example) on Rydberg atoms. Results of these studies are also presented.
Rydberg blockade at $n\ensuremath{\sim}300$, is examined using strontium n1F3n\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{1}F_{3}n1F3​ Rydberg atoms excited in an atomic beam in a small volume defined by two tightly focused crossed laser beams. The observation of blockade for such states is challenging due to their extreme sensitivity to stray fields and the many magnetic sublevels associated with FFF states which results in a high local density of states. Nonetheless, with a careful choice of laser polarization to selectively excite only a limited number of these sublevels, sizable blockade effects are observed on an $\ensuremath{\sim}0.1$ mm length scale extending blockade measurements into the near-macroscopic regime and enabling study of the dynamics of strongly coupled many-body high-nnn Rydberg systems under carefully controlled conditions.