Guiding of Rydberg atoms in a high-gradient magnetic guide
Atomic Physics
2015-06-04 v1
Abstract
We study the guiding of Rb 59D Rydberg atoms in a linear, high-gradient, two-wire magnetic guide. Time delayed microwave ionization and ion detection are used to probe the Rydberg atom motion. We observe guiding of Rydberg atoms over a period of 5 ms following excitation. The decay time of the guided atom signal is about five times that of the initial state. We attribute the lifetime increase to an initial phase of -changing collisions and thermally induced Rydberg-Rydberg transitions. Detailed simulations of Rydberg atom guiding reproduce most experimental observations and offer insight into the internal-state evolution.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1202.5240,
title = {Guiding of Rydberg atoms in a high-gradient magnetic guide},
author = {M. Traxler and R. E. Sapiro and C. Hempel and K. Lundquist and E. P. Power and G. Raithel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1202.5240},
year = {2015}
}