Suppression of Excitation and Spectral Broadening Induced by Interactions in a Cold Gas of Rydberg Atoms

Kilian Singer, Markus Reetz-Lamour, Thomas Amthor, Luis Gustavo Marcassa, and Matthias Weidemüller
Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 163001 – Published 13 October 2004

Abstract

We report on the observation of ultralong range interactions in a gas of cold rubidium Rydberg atoms. The van der Waals interaction between a pair of Rydberg atoms separated as far as 100 000 Bohr radii features two important effects: spectral broadening of the resonance lines and suppression of excitation with increasing density. The density dependence of these effects is investigated in detail for the S- and P-Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers n60 and n80 excited by narrow-band continuous-wave laser light. The density-dependent suppression of excitation can be interpreted as the onset of an interaction-induced local blockade.

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  • Received 15 April 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.163001

©2004 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Kilian Singer, Markus Reetz-Lamour, Thomas Amthor, Luis Gustavo Marcassa*, and Matthias Weidemüller

  • Physikalisches Institut der Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 3, 79104 Freiburg, Germany

  • *Permanent address: Instituto de Física de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 369, 13560-970, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Electronic address: m.weidemueller@physik.uni-freiburg.de

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Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 16 — 15 October 2004

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