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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters

Coherent Excitation of Rydberg States in the Gas of Cold 40Ca Atoms

Boris B. Zelener, I. D. Arshinova, A. A. Bobrov, E V Vilshanskaya, Sergey A. Saakyan, Vladimir A. Sautenkov, B. V. Zelener, Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov

Published Dec 1, 2018• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The spectra of highly excited 40 Ca atoms prepared using a magneto-optical trap and an ultraviolet laser are experimentally studied. The dependence of the atomic density in the magneto-optical trap on the detuning frequency of cooling radiation and on the magnetic field gradient is determined. By using the technique based on the reduction of resonance fluorescence, the energy of the 76 1 S 0 Rydberg state for 40 Ca atoms is determined. A new scheme for stabilization of the laser frequency to create highly excited Rydberg atoms is demonstrated. This scheme employs the saturated absorption spectrum in a cell with rubidium atomic gas.

DOI
10.1134/s0021364018240116

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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•Nov 1, 2014•19 citations
The spectra of highly excited 40 Ca atoms prepared using a magneto-optical trap and an ultraviolet laser are experimentally studied. The dependence of the atomic density in the magneto-optical trap on the detuning frequency of cooling radiation and on the magnetic field gradient is determined. By using the technique based on the reduction of resonance fluorescence, the energy of the 76 1 S 0 Rydberg state for 40 Ca atoms is determined. A new scheme for stabilization of the laser frequency to create highly excited Rydberg atoms is demonstrated. This scheme employs the saturated absorption spectrum in a cell with rubidium atomic gas.
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We report the construction and characterization of an experimental setup for producing a cold gas of 40^{40}40Ca atoms and excite them to high Rydberg states with a resonant three-photon-excitation scheme. The apparatus comprises four stages, each designed in-house. An oven heated to ∼500∘\sim 500^\circ∼500∘C generates an atomic beam that is collimated by a capillary stack. The beam is sent into a passive, permanent-magnet-based Zeeman slower that reduces the atomic velocity to 303030 m/s. The slow atoms are captured in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and cooled to 1.0(3)1.0(3)1.0(3) mK with a trapping time of 16(2)16(2)16(2) ms. Ground-state atoms in the cold gas are excited to high Rydberg states via resonant excitation through the intermediate 4s4p 1P14s4p\, ^1P_14s4p1P1​ and 4s4d 1D24s4d\, ^1D_24s4d1D2​ states. The MOT is operated at the center of an electrode stack, which serves to apply continuous and pulsed electric fields and field-ionize the Rydberg atoms for detection. We benchmark our MOT against previous implementations and find its performance consistent with state-of-the-art results in terms of temperature and trapping lifetime. Finally, we demonstrate Rydberg spectroscopy of calcium, confirming the system's suitability for ultracold Rydberg physics experiments.
Two-photon spectroscopy has been applied to measure the Rydberg transition energies in the n 1 S 0 state of 40 Ca atoms at n = 40–120. The ionization potential determined from these experimental data is 49305.91966(4) cm −1 . Using the frequency-doubled radiation and fundamental radiation from a diode laser, the frequencies of two-photon transitions to Rydberg states with the principal quantum numbers of 75 and 76 have been measured simultaneously with the frequencies of resonances of saturated absorption in a rubidium vapor cell. The chosen transition frequencies for rubidium atoms are known with high accuracy. Such frequency references make it possible to improve the accuracy of determination of the Rydberg transition energies in 40 Ca atoms.
The spectra of excited lithium-7 atoms prepared in a magneto-optical trap are studied using a UV laser. The laser diagnostics of the energy of Rydberg atoms is developed based on measurements of the change in resonance fluorescence intensity of ultracold atoms as the exciting UV radiation frequency passes through the Rydberg transition frequency. The energies of various nS configurations are obtained in a broad range of the principal quantum number n from 38 to 165. The values of the quantum defect and ionization energy obtained in experiments and predicted theoretically are discussed.
This thesis describes the development of a new technique for measuring the spatial distribution of Rydberg atoms in a cold strontium gas. Strontium atoms are cooled and trapped in a magneto-optical trap and coherently excited to Rydberg states in a two-photon, three-level ladder scheme. Several methods of stabilizing the frequency to the cooling transition are discussed and characterized. A frequency stabilization scheme based on electromagnetically-induced transparency for the second laser required for Rydberg excitation is also explained. The Rydberg population dynamics are studied experimentally and modeled using an optical Bloch equation simulation. The divalent nature of strontium allows doubly excited “autoionizing” states to be accessed using resonant optical excitation. These states ionize in subnanosecond timescales, with the ions recorded on a micro-channel plate being proportional to the amount of Rydberg atoms. Translation of an autoionizing laser focused to a waist of 10 μm gives a spatially resolved Rydberg signal. A two-dimensional map of the Rydberg spatial distribution has been made using this autoionizing microscopy technique.
This work is aimed at preparing highly excited optically cooled lithium-7 atoms for producing a strongly nonideal plasma and Rydberg matter. A setup implementing a novel nondestructive technique for preparation and diagnostics of highly excited Rydberg atomic states is constructed. The operation of this setup is based on the usage of a cw high-power ultraviolet laser combined with a magneto-optical trap. The diagnostics of highly excited states is performed by the direct recording of the variations in the fluorescence of ultracold lithium-7 atoms in the magneto-optical trap.