Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 43: Ultracold Plasmas and Rydberg Systems IV (with Q)

A 43.2: Talk

Friday, March 27, 2015, 14:45–15:00, P/H2

Two-photon bound states of Rydberg polaritons — •Matthias Moos, Razmik Unanyan, and Michael Fleischhauer — Fachbereich Physik und Forschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

We consider the propagation of photons in a medium of Rydberg atoms. Under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency the photons form strongly interacting massive particles, termed Rydberg polaritons. Recent experiments have realized strong interactions between Rydberg polaritons and shown photon blockade as well as bunching phenomena [1],[2]. We consider an off-resonant coupling of the Rydberg polaritons to the medium. We derive a one-dimensional effective Hamiltonian and find parameter regimes where bound states can be excited near the threshold of the scattering continuum. Using numerical wave-function simulations we show that bound states can be created in a pulsed experiment and analyze their properties and time-evolution inside the medium.
Peyronel et al. Nature 488, 57 (2012)
Firstenberg et al. Nature 502, 71 (2013)