Microwave Transitions in Pairs of Rb Rydberg Atoms

Yinan Yu, Hyunwook Park, and T. F. Gallagher

Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 173001 – Published 22 October 2013

Abstract

We have observed microwave transitions between pairs of cold Rb atoms, specifically, transitions between the molecular $n d_{5 / 2} n d_{5 / 2}$ and $(n + 1) d_{j} (n - 2) f$ states for $41 \leq n \leq 44$ . (We use the separated atom limits as labels.) The transition is allowed because the dipole-dipole induced configuration interaction between the $n d_{5 / 2} n d_{5 / 2}$ state and the energetically close $(n + 2) p_{3 / 2} (n - 2) f$ state leads to an admixture of the latter into the former. Such transitions may provide a way of selecting closely spaced pairs of atoms.

Received 27 June 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.173001

Authors & Affiliations

Yinan Yu, Hyunwook Park^*, and T. F. Gallagher

Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-0714, USA

^*Present address: Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Issue

Vol. 111, Iss. 17 — 25 October 2013

Reuse & Permissions

Access Options

Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Images

Figure 1
Energy level diagram for the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2} \to 42 d_{j} 40 f$ transition, shown by the solid arrow. The transition is allowed due to the dipole-dipole induced configuration interaction, shown by the double headed broken arrow, between the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}$ state and the nearby $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f$ state, which is displaced in energy from the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}$ state by $Δ$ , which is exaggerated for clarity.Reuse & Permissions
Figure 2
(a) Transitions from the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}$ state to the $43 d_{3 / 2} 40 f$ and $43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ states obtained by observing population in the atomic $43 d$ state subsequent to the microwave pulse. The arrows are at the locations of the atomic $44 p_{3 / 2} \to 43 d_{j}$ transition frequencies. (b) Analogous transitions from the $44 d_{5 / 2} 44 d_{5 / 2}$ state to the $45 d_{3 / 2} 40 f$ and $45 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ states. The arrows are at the locations of the atomic $46 p_{3 / 2} \to 45 d_{j}$ transition frequencies.Reuse & Permissions
Figure 3
Observed $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2} \to 43 d_{j} 40 f$ resonances for a range of relative microwave field amplitudes. The vertical scales are adjusted so that the resonance peaks all have the same height. The transition to the $43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ state exhibits an obvious ac Stark shift to higher frequency, while the transition to the $43 d_{3 / 2} 40 f$ state exhibits a much smaller shift. At low fields, the widths are 10 MHz, but as the field is increased, they broaden, due to microwave field inhomogeneity. The $43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ resonance splits due to the difference in the Stark shifts of $| m_{j} | = 1 / 2$ and $3 / 2$ levels. At higher fields, splitting is observed in the transition to the $43 d_{3 / 2} 40 f$ state.Reuse & Permissions
Figure 4
Fractional population transfer of $42 d$ atoms in a 27.118 GHz microwave field of $35 mV / cm$ as a function of $ρ_{0}$ , the density in the center of the MOT.Reuse & Permissions
Figure 5
Plots of the Floquet energies $W_{42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}} + ω$ , $W_{43 p_{3 / 2} 40 f} + ω$ , $W_{43 d_{3 / 2} 40 f}$ , and $W_{43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f}$ vs microwave frequency. The energy of the $43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ state in zero microwave field is zero. The dipole-dipole coupling between the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}$ and $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f$ states is 10 MHz. (a) The microwave coupling between the $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f$ and $43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ states is 10 MHz. The avoided crossings between the $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2}$ and the $43 d_{j} 40 f$ states of $j = 3 / 2$ and $5 / 2$ are 0.2 and 0.6 MHz, respectively, and are not visible on this scale. The visible microwave avoided crossings between the $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f$ and $43 d_{j} 40 f$ states occur at the atomic $44 p_{3 / 2} - 43 d_{j}$ resonant frequencies. (b) The $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f - 43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ microwave coupling is 50 MHz. The $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2} - 43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ avoided crossing of 18 MHz is now visible and shifted in frequency from its position in (a). The $42 d_{5 / 2} 42 d_{5 / 2} - 43 d_{3 / 2} 40 f$ avoided crossing of 3 MHz is not visible or shifted from its position in (a). The $44 p_{3 / 2} 40 f - 43 d_{5 / 2} 40 f$ microwave avoided crossing is now so large that over a 100 MHz frequency range, the two Floquet eigenstates have comparable amplitudes of both zero field Floquet states.Reuse & Permissions

Physical Review Letters