Simultaneous position and state measurement of Rydberg atoms
Abstract
We present a technique for state-selective position detection of cold Rydberg atoms. Ground state Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap are excited to a Rydberg state and are subsequently ionized with a tailored electric field pulse. This pulse selectively ionizes only atoms in e.g. the 54d state and not in the 53d state. The released electrons are detected after a slow flight towards a micro channel plate. From the time of flight of the electrons the position of the atoms is deduced. The state selectivity is about 20:1 when comparing 54d with 53d and the one-dimensional position resolution ranges from 6 to 40 m over a range of 300 m. This state selectivity and position resolution are sufficient to allow for the observation of coherent quantum excitation transport.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0602183,
title = {Simultaneous position and state measurement of Rydberg atoms},
author = {C. S. E. van Ditzhuijzen and A. F. Koenderink and L. D. Noordam and H. B. van Linden van den Heuvell},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0602183},
year = {2007}
}