Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 49: Ultra-cold plasmas and Rydberg systems

A 49.5: Talk

Friday, March 16, 2012, 15:00–15:15, V57.03

Three-Photon Rydberg Excitation in a Thermal Vapour — •Christopher Carr, Kevin Weatherill, and Charles Adams — Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, England

We perform three-photon excitation to highly excited Rydberg states in a thermal Caesium vapour. The three-photon excitation scheme provides a coherent and non-destructive probe of the Rydberg state using inexpensive diode lasers at convenient wavelengths.

We have demonstrated the compensation of Doppler broadening by velocity-dependent light shifts in three-photon Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Additionally, we study the strong atom-atom interactions which occur at high atomic densities by confining the atomic sample in a thin cell. These interactions lead to asymmetric frequency-shifted lineshapes in the absorption spectrum.
References:

[1] S. Reynaud, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 42 756 (1979)

[2] R P Abel, et al., Phys. Rev. A 84 023408 (2011)

[3] C Carr, et al., Polarization spectroscopy of an excited state transition, accepted for publication in Optics Letters (2011)