Hannover 2016 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 19: Ultracold Atoms, Ions and Molecules III (with A)

Q 19.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 11:45–12:00, f342

Two-body interactions and decay of three-level Rydberg-dressed atoms — •Stephan Helmrich, Alda Arias, Nils Pehoviak, Emil Pavlov, Tobias Wintermantel, and Shannon M Whitlock — Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69120 Heidelberg

We theoretically analyse the interactions and decay rates for atoms dressed by multiple laser fields to strongly interacting Rydberg states using a quantum master-equation approach. In this framework a comparison of two-level and three-level Rydberg-dressing schemes is presented. We identify a resonant enhancement of the three-level dressed interaction strength which originates from cooperative multiphoton couplings. This feature can be effectively used for Rydberg dressing under electromagnetically-induced-transparency condition combined with small single-photon detunings. The cooperative enhancement in interaction is accompanied by low levels of distance-dependent dissipation. We will present first experimental studies of Rydberg dressing of ultracold potassium atoms with dressing times comparable to the timescales for atomic motion. In the future, near-resonant Rydberg dressing in three-level atomic systems may enable the realization of laser driven quantum fluids with long-range and anisotropic interactions and with controllable dissipation.