Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 39: Poster: Quantum Optics and Photonics II

Q 39.13: Poster

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 16:15–18:15, Zelt Ost

SiRypY: Strongly interacting Rydberg polaritons in Ytterbium — •Simon Ball, Nina Stiesdal, Christoph Braun, Christoph Tresp, Philip Lunt, and Sebastian Hofferberth — Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, SDU, Campusvej, 55230 Odense M, Denmark

We study non-linear quantum optics by reversibly mapping the strong inter-atomic interactions between Rydberg excitations onto single optical photons [1]. A key figure of merit for such experiments is the optical depth per Rydberg blockade volume optimised by achieving high atomic densities. However, at high atomic densities, Rydberg-ground-state collisions become a limiting factor with the commonly used alkali elements [2].

Here we discuss the development of a new experiment designed to study the interactions between a large number of Rydberg polaritons simultaneously propagating through a medium with extremely high atomic density [3]. It is proposed to overcome the atomic density limitations through the use of Ytterbium, an alkaline-earth-like element without a p-wave resonance between the Rydberg electron and surrounding ground state atoms [4].

[1] Firstenberg et al, J. Phys. B 49, 152003 (2016)

[2] Balewski et al, Nature 502, 664 (2013)

[3] Jachymski et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 053601 (2016)

[4] Camargo et al, Phys. Rev. A 93, 022702 (2016)