Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 26: Ultracold Plasmas and Rydberg systems (joint session A/Q)

A 26.1: Talk

Wednesday, March 7, 2018, 14:00–14:15, K 0.011

Van der Waals interaction potential between Rydberg atoms near surfaces — •Johannes Block and Stefan Scheel — Institut für Physik, Universität Rostock, D-18059 Rostock, Germany

Rydberg atoms experience strong van der Waals interactions due to their large transition dipole moments. As these interactions are mediated by photons, they can be altered by dielectric surroundings. As a model system for atoms near a superconducting stripline cavity, we show the effect of a mirror on the van der Waals interaction of Rydberg atoms by direct diagonalization of the interaction Hamiltonian including terms up to electric quadrupole-quadrupole interaction [1,2]. We find that the presence of the mirror strongly modifies the interactions leading to a significant change in the Rydberg blockade [3].

[1] J.S. Cabral et al., J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 44, 184007 (2011).

[2] J. Stanovevic et al., Phys. Rev. A 78, 082709 (2008).

[3] J. Block and S. Scheel, arXiv:1710.08965