Quasiclassical calculations of BBR-induced depopulation rates and effective lifetimes of Rydberg nS, nP, and nD alkali-metal atoms with n ≤ 80. Rates of depopulation by blackbody radiation (BBR) and effective lifetimes of alkali-metal nS, nP, and nD Rydberg states have been calculated in a wide range of principal quantum numbers n ≤ 80 at the ambient temperatures of 77, 300 and 600 K. Quasiclassical formulas were used to calculate the radial matrix elements of the dipole transitions from Rydberg states. Good agreement of our numerical results with the available theoretical and experimental data has been found. We have also obtained simple analytical formulas for estimates of effective lifetimes and BBR-induced depopulation rates, which well agree with the numerical data.

Erratum: Quasiclassical calculations of blackbody-radiation-induced depopulation rates and effective lifetimes of Rydberg nS, nP, and nD alkali-metal atoms with n Ï 80 [Phys. Rev. A 79, 052504 (2009)]

Cold atoms in highly excited Rydberg states are promising candidates to implement quantum logic gates of a quantum computer via long-range dipole-dipole interaction. Two-qubit gates require a controlled interaction of only two close Rydberg atoms. We report on the first spectroscopic observation of the resonant dipole-dipole interaction between two cold rubidium Rydberg atoms confined in a small laser excitation volume. The interaction strength was controlled by fine-tuning of the Rydberg levels into a Förster resonance using the Stark effect. The observed resonance line shapes are in good agreement with numerical Monte Carlo simulations.

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