Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 37: SYRA: Ultracold Rydberg Atoms and Molecules 3

Q 37.1: Talk

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10:30–10:45, V7.03

Interaction enhanced imaging of individual Rydberg atoms in dense gases — •Martin Robert-de-Saint-Vincent, Georg Günter, Christoph S. Hofmann, Hanna Schempp, Henning Labuhn, Shannon Whitlock, and Matthias Weidemüller — Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg

Neutral atoms in Rydberg states are highly-polarisable particles, which can experience quantum effects and interactions over macroscopic distances. Many-body systems of Rydberg atoms offer a unique opportunity to create and investigate strong correlations in ultra-cold atomic gases [1]. Until recently, Rydberg ensembles have mostly been studied via field-ionization and subsequent ion detection, typically providing ensemble properties. Here, we present an all-optical method to image individual Rydberg atoms embedded within dense gases of ground state atoms [2]. The scheme exploits interaction-induced shifts on highly polarizable excited states of probe atoms, which can be spatially resolved via an electromagnetically induced transparency resonance. Using a realistic model, we show that individual Rydberg atoms can be imaged with enhanced sensitivity and high resolution despite photon shot noise and atomic density fluctuations. This scheme could be extended to other impurities such as ions, and is ideally suited to studies of spatially-correlated many-body systems.

[1] Pohl et al., PRL 104, 043002 (2010)

[2] G. Günter et al., arXiv:1106.5443v1 (2011), to be published in PRL