Resonant Rydberg-Atom-Rydberg-Atom Collisions

Safinya, K. A.; Delpech, Jean-Paul; Gounand, F.; Sandner, W.; Gallagher, T. F.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.47.405

Cited by 82 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, the linearity of the Stark effect implies that if one atom undergoes a transition in which k and m change by ±1 and the other atom undergoes a transition in which k and m change by ∓1 the energy remains constant. To account for the effects of these transition networks induced by collisions, we have generalized the two-state Förster-type collision model used to describe resonant collisions between Rydberg atoms [46,47,64] and which plays a key role in the dynamics of frozen Rydberg gases [65][66][67] to a multi-state situation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dominant term in the long-range electrostatic interaction series between two Rydberg atoms is the dipole-dipole interaction term [45]. This interaction is at the origin of diverse phenomena in cold Rydberg atom gases, such as resonant transitions of Rydberg-atom pairs [46,47], inelastic collisions [2], Penning ionization [48,49], Rydberg-excitation blockade [50][51][52] and the formation of Rydberg macrodimers [53][54][55]. It also plays an important role in the evolution of a cold Rydberg gas into a plasma [56][57][58].…”

Section: A Collision-induced Transitions Between Near-degenerate Levmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Radiative and collisional processes in translationally cold samples of hydrogen Rydberg atoms studied in an electrostatic trap

Seiler¹,

Agner²,

Pillet³

et al. 2016

J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Supersonic beams of hydrogen atoms, prepared selectively in Rydberg-Stark states of principal quantum number n in the range between 25 and 35, have been deflected by 90 ○ , decelerated and loaded into off-axis electric traps at initial densities of ≈ 10 6 atoms/cm −3 and translational temperatures of 150 mK. The ability to confine the atoms spatially was exploited to study their decay by radiative and collisional processes. The evolution of the population of trapped atoms was measured for several milliseconds in dependence of the principal quantum number of the initially prepared states, the initial Rydberg-atom density in the trap, and the temperature of the environment of the trap, which could be varied between 7.5 K and 300 K using a cryorefrigerator. At room temperature, the population of trapped Rydberg atoms was found to decay faster than expected on the basis of their natural lifetimes, primarily because of absorption and emission stimulated by the thermal radiation field. At the lowest temperatures investigated experimentally, the decay was found to be multiexponential, with an initial rate scaling as n −4 and corresponding closely to the natural lifetimes of the initially prepared Rydberg-Stark states. The decay rate was found to continually decrease over time and to reach an almost n-independent rate of more than (1 ms) −1 after 3 ms. To analyze the experimentally observed decay of the populations of trapped atoms, numerical simulations were performed which included all radiative processes, i.e., spontaneous emission as well as absorption and emission stimulated by the thermal radiation. These simulations, however, systematically underestimated the population of trapped atoms observed after several milliseconds by almost two orders of magnitude, although they reliably predicted the decay rates of the remaining atoms in the trap. The calculations revealed that the atoms that remain in the trap for the longest times have larger absolute values of the magnetic quantum number m than the optically prepared RydbergStark states, and this observation led to the conclusion that a much more efficient mechanism than a purely radiative one must exist to induce transitions to Rydberg-Stark states of higher m values. While searching for such a mechanism, we discovered that resonant dipole-dipole collisions between Rydberg atoms in the trap represent an extremely efficient way of inducing transitions to states of higher m values. The efficiency of the mechanism is a consequence of the almost perfectly linear nature of the Stark effect at the moderate field strengths used to trap the atoms, which permits cascades of transitions between entire networks of near-degenerate Rydberg-atom-pair states. To include such cascades of resonant dipole-dipole transitions in the numerical simulations, we have generalized the two-state Förster-type collision model used to describe resonant collisions in ultracold Rydberg gases to a multi-state situation. It is only when considering the combined effects of collisional and radiative pr...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Collision-induced Transitions Between Near-degenerate Levmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiative and collisional processes in translationally cold samples of hydrogen Rydberg atoms studied in an electrostatic trap

Seiler¹,

Agner²,

Pillet³

et al. 2016

J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adding a small electric field is therefore a very simple way to control the dipole-dipole interaction. Another way to control the dipoledipole coupling through Stark effect is the case of the resonant dipole-dipole energy transfer [2][3][4], socalled Förster resonance. We consider for instance the case of the cesium atom (the other alkali atoms present similar properties), for which the np 3/2 state is located nearly midway in energy between the …”

Section: Dipole-dipole Interactions Induced By a Static Electric Fielmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rydberg atoms are known to have huge polarizabilities leading to extreme collisional properties of room temperature atoms, in particular, large cross sections and long interaction times. The evidence of collisions with impact parameters of the order of the micrometer has for instance been demonstrated at room temperature [2].The first experiments performed with cold Rydberg atoms demonstrated not only the long-range of the interatomic interactions, but their many-body nature as well [3,4]. On the time scale of the experiment, on the order of one microsecond, the behavior of the Rydberg ensemble corresponds to a frozen gas with more similarity to an amorphous solid than to a gas of colliding atoms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Controllable interactions between Rydberg atoms and ultracold plasmas

Pillet

Vogt

Viteau

et al. 2009

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Controllable interactions between Rydberg atoms and ultracold plasmasTo cite this article: P Pillet et al 2009 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 194 012066 View the article online for updates and enhancements. Related contentDipole-dipole interactions in a hot atomic vapor and in an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms V A Sautenkov, S A Saakyan, S Ya Bronin et al. Abstract. We discuss the control of dipole-dipole interactions in a frozen assembly of Rydberg atoms. We report the evidence of dipole blockade of the Rydberg excitation for two configurations: dipole blockade induced by electric field and dipole blockade in Förster resonance. We demonstrate that two individual atoms separated by ~ 4 µm can act as a collective dipole if their interaction is strong enough to be in the dipole blockade regime. This observation is crucial for the quantum entanglement of two or more atoms using dipole-dipole interaction. The dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg atoms are also responsible for Penning ionization leading to the formation of an ultracold plasma. We have demonstrated that Penning ionization of np Rydberg cesium atoms can be prevented by considering repulsive dipole-dipole interactions. IntroductionThe atomic highly excited or Rydberg states were extensively studied in the eighties for their exaggerated properties [1]. Indeed they are so sensitive to weak perturbations that they offer the opportunity to explore phenomena inaccessible in other physical systems. Rydberg atoms are known to have huge polarizabilities leading to extreme collisional properties of room temperature atoms, in particular, large cross sections and long interaction times. The evidence of collisions with impact parameters of the order of the micrometer has for instance been demonstrated at room temperature [2].The first experiments performed with cold Rydberg atoms demonstrated not only the long-range of the interatomic interactions, but their many-body nature as well [3,4]. On the time scale of the experiment, on the order of one microsecond, the behavior of the Rydberg ensemble corresponds to a frozen gas with more similarity to an amorphous solid than to a gas of colliding atoms. Moreover for longer times of a few microseconds, dense and cold Rydberg atomic samples have shown a very impressive behavior, their spontaneous evolution to a neutral ultracold plasma [5]. The ensemble of these first studies have clearly demonstrated that the physics of the cold Rydberg atoms is at the intersection of

show abstract