Related papers: Dynamics of Low-Density Ultracold Rydberg Gases
We present a study of a cold strontium Rydberg gas. The narrowband laser excitation of Rydberg states in the range n=20-80 from a 6~mK cloud of strontium atoms is detected using the spontaneous ionization of the Rydberg atoms. Using a…
The spread of excitations by Rydberg facilitation bears many similarities to epidemics. Such systems can be modeled with Monte-Carlo simulations of classical rate equations to great accuracy as a result of high dephasing. In this paper, we…
We investigate computationally a method for ultrafast preparation of alkali metal atoms in their Rydberg states using a three-dimensional model potential in the single active electron approximation. By optimizing laser pulse shapes that can…
We have experimentally demonstrated both heating and cooling of electrons in an ultracold neutral plasma (UNP) by embedding Rydberg atoms into the plasma soon after its creation. We have determined the relationship between the initial…
We report the spontaneous formation of a plasma from a gas of cold Rydberg molecules. Double-resonant laser excitation promotes nitric oxide, cooled to 1 K in a seeded supersonic molecular beam, to single Rydberg states extending as deep as…
We discuss the density shift and broadening of Rydberg spectra measured in cold, dense atom clouds in the context of Rydberg atom spectroscopy done at room temperature, dating back to the experiments of Amaldi and Segr\`e in 1934. We…
Neutral Rydberg atoms trapped in optical tweezer arrays provide a platform for quantum simulation and computation. In this work, we investigate the Lamb-Dicke dynamics of coupled Rydberg atoms for different trapping frequencies. We model…
When ground state atoms are excited to a Rydberg state, van der Waals interactions among them can lead to a strong suppression of the excitation. Despite the strong interactions the evolution can still be reversed by a simple phase shift in…
Intensity modulated optical lattice potentials can change sign for an alkali metal Rydberg atom, and the atoms are not always attracted to intensity minima in optical lattices with wavelengths near the CO$_2$ laser band. Here we demonstrate…
We present an experimental study of the Rydberg $^1S_0$- and $^1P_1$- series of ytterbium for principal quantum numbers in the range of $n=70$ to $90$. The study is performed using trap loss spectroscopy in a magneto-optical trap operating…
Many-body systems relaxing to equilibrium can exhibit complex dynamics even if their steady state is trivial. At low temperatures or high densities their evolution is often dominated by steric hindrances affecting particle motion [1,2,3].…
Not long after metastable xenon was photoionized in a magneto-optical trap, groups in Europe and North America found that similar states of ionized gas evolved spontaneously from state-selected, high principal quantum number Rydberg gases.…
Rydberg dressing traditionally refers to a technique where interactions between cold atoms are imprinted through the far off-resonant continuous-wave excitation of high-lying Rydberg states. Dipolar interactions between these electronic…
The identification of tipping points is essential for prediction of collapses or other sudden changes in complex systems. Applications include studies of ecology, thermodynamics, climatology, and epidemiology. However, detecting early signs…
Rate equation models are extensively used to describe the many-body states of laser driven atomic gases. We show that the properties of the rate equation model used to describe nonlinear optical effects arising in interacting Rydberg gases…
Recent breakthroughs in the experimental manipulation of strongly interacting atomic Rydberg gases in lattice potentials have opened a new avenue for the study of many-body phenomena. Considerable efforts are currently being undertaken to…
We show that the excitation of long-range Rydberg molecules in a three-dimensional optical lattice can be used as a position- and time-sensitive probe of the site occupancy in the system. To this end, we detect the ions which are…
We study a driven-dissipative system of atoms in the presence of laser excitation to a Rydberg state and spontaneous emission. The atoms interact via the blockade effect, whereby an atom in the Rydberg state shifts the Rydberg level of…
Strongly Rydberg-blockaded two-level atoms form a Rydberg superatom, which is excited only to a collective symmetrical Dicke state. However, emerging often in the alkali-earth atoms, the spontaneous decay from the Rydberg state to an…
Understanding and probing phase transitions in non-equilibrium systems is an ongoing challenge in physics. A particular instance are phase transitions that occur between a non-fluctuating absorbing phase, e.g., an extinct population, and…