Abstract
We use the sensitive response to electric fields of Rydberg atoms to characterize all three vector components of the local electric field close to an atom-chip surface. We measured Stark-Zeeman maps of and Rydberg states using an elongated cloud of ultracold rubidium atoms (temperature ) trapped magnetically from the chip surface. The spectroscopy of states yields a calibration for the generated local electric field at the position of the atoms. The values for different components of the field are extracted from the more complex response of states to the combined electric and magnetic fields. From the analysis we find residual fields in the two uncompensated directions of and V/cm. This method also allows us to extract a value for the relevant field gradient along the long axis of the cloud. The manipulation of electric fields and the magnetic trapping are both done using on-chip wires, making this setup a promising candidate to observe Rydberg-mediated interactions on a chip.
- Received 19 May 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.013425
©2017 American Physical Society