Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2013 Joint Meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics and the CAP Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics, Canada
Volume 58, Number 6
Monday–Friday, June 3–7, 2013; Quebec City, Canada
Session B2: Invited Session: Quantum Coherence with Rydberg atoms |
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Chair: Thad Walker, University of Wisconsin Room: 200B |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 10:30AM - 11:00AM |
B2.00001: Electric field sensing near the surface microstructure of an atom chip using cold Rydberg atoms Invited Speaker: J.D.D. Martin Rydberg atoms may enable hybrid systems that combine the benefits of gas-phase atoms with those of solid-state devices. However, these hybrid systems will require atoms to be located near a heterogeneous surface with exposed metal electrodes and dielectric insulators, which are sources of uncontrollable and unwanted electric fields. With this motivation, we have measured the electric fields near the heterogeneous metal-dielectric surface of an atom chip using cold Rydberg atoms [1]. We have also developed a technique for reducing the influence of dc and low-frequency electric fields on Rydberg atom transitions, while retaining their sensitivity to high-frequency resonant fields [2]. \\[4pt] [1] J. D. Carter, O. Cherry, and J. D. D. Martin, Phys. Rev. A, v. 86, 053401 (2012).\\[0pt] [2] {\it Rydberg atoms with a reduced sensitivity to dc and low-frequency electric fields}, L. A. Jones, J. D. Carter, J. D. D. Martin, arXiv/1301.4170. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 11:00AM - 11:30AM |
B2.00002: Probing stray electric fields at surfaces with Rydberg atoms Invited Speaker: F. Barry Dunning While the surfaces of conductors are often viewed as an equipotential, in reality surface microstructure and adsorbates lead to local potential variations. These produce surface patch fields that can affect the behavior of ions or atoms trapped near a surface and can influence the outcome of atom-surface interactions. Measurement of such fields is therefore important to assess their likely impact and to explore means to reduce them. Because of their large physical size, Rydberg atoms are strongly perturbed by electric fields and thus provide a powerful probe of surface fields. For example, Rydberg atoms display pronounced Stark shifts and their measurement has been used to map stray fields above an atom chip and fields resulting from alkali deposition on a surface. Stray fields nearer the surface can be explored by studying the ionization of Rydberg atoms incident at near grazing angle in the presence of an ion collection field. Close to the surface ionization can occur through resonant tunneling of the excited electron into the surface. Stray fields (and the ion collection field) modify the potential barrier between the atom and surface and thus the atom-surface separation at which ionization occurs. (If sufficient, they might even induce field ionization in vacuum well above the surface.) Once formed, an ion experiences forces from its image charge and the local stray field that must be overcome by the ion collection field to detect the ion. Thus measurements of the ion signal versus collection field provide a measure of the stray fields present. Strong surface fields can also be generated using micrometer-scale electrode arrays providing a new approach to studying their effects. Research conducted in conjunction with Y. Pu and D. D. Neufeld and supported by the NSF and the Robert A. Welch Foundation. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 11:30AM - 12:00PM |
B2.00003: Dispersive optical nonlinearities using cold Rydberg atoms Invited Speaker: Alexei Ourjoumtsev We study dispersive optical nonlinearities arising from Rydberg interactions in cold atomic gases. In a resonant, dispersive regime such systems have recently been used as single-photon sources, whereas in the off-resonant, dispersive case they could ultimately allow one to realize two-photon quantum logic gates. We experimentally measure the optical dispersion of a cold atomic cloud inside an optical cavity using a weak probe laser, in presence of a strong control beam driving off-resonant transitions to highly excited Rydberg states. We find that the non-linear response of the system is considerably stronger than for non-interacting atoms, and that the nonlinearity increases with the Rydberg interactions and with the atomic density following the expected scaling laws. We show that this non-linearity can be explained by a ``blockade'' phenomenon, where an excited Rydberg atom prevents the excitation of its neighbors, thereby modifying their optical response. To investigate the behavior of the system in the quantum regime, we show that in the resonant case the cloud acts as ``quantum scissors,'' deterministically transforming a weak coherent excitation in a non-classical state. We find a range of parameters where this state can be efficiently retrieved and characterized in a homodyne measurement. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 12:00PM - 12:30PM |
B2.00004: Quantum memory with Rydberg blockade Invited Speaker: Alex Kuzmich |
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