Studies Involving Atoms in High Rydberg States

操纵原子内部状态和控制相邻原子之间相互作用的能力是最近许多科学发现的核心。这一领域的进展使人们对量子力学有了更好的理解，量子力学是在微观层面上描述物质行为的理论，并使量子信息的新领域成为可能，量子力学被用作与加密，信息处理和计算相关的新技术的基础。操纵参与化学反应的原子的内部状态使得产生特定的靶向反应产物成为可能。原子间的相互作用也会导致原子的集体行为，例如磁性或超导性。因此，调整这种相互作用提供了对这种现象的深入了解，这反过来又可以设计用于计算机硬盘驱动器的改进的磁性材料或用于电力传输的改进的超导体。该项目旨在提高我们控制和操纵原子状态的能力，并更好地理解原子相互作用。 具体来说，该项目将在一个特殊的烤箱中加热锶原子，直到它们从一个小孔中沸腾出来，形成准直光束到原子中，然后用激光将能量泵入原子中。 在此之后，电场将被施加到原子上以扭曲它们，它们将被允许相互作用，然后其他激光，电场和相机将被用来确定结果。 类似的研究将与这些研究相辅相成，使用激光冷却原子，而不是在烤箱中加热它们。 作为一个起点，锶原子在定义良好的初始里德堡态将通过使用激光制备。利用精心定制的一系列电场脉冲来操纵这种原子的波函数的技术将被用来创建强相互作用的里德伯系统。最初，偶极封锁将被用来创建（弱相互作用）里德伯原子对定义良好的分离。然后，通过同时将两者激发到某个选定的更高的状态，它们的相互作用将增加，相互作用的程度通过选择目标状态（和原子分离）来调整。将检查产品的两个电子波包的时间演化，以探索能量交换和寻找长寿命的配置，由于它们的相关运动，电子保持远离。测量将扩展到包括三个或更多的强相互作用的里德伯原子，并探索多体效应的发生。还将尝试在单个原子内创建长寿命的双电子激发态，即，所谓的行星原子此外，控制基态原子之间的相互作用，通过光学敷料与辐射调谐近共振与里德堡态将被探索。初步的测量显示出出乎意料的大基态原子损失率，将确定负责的过程，并寻求减轻它们的方法。

The ability to manipulate the internal states of atoms and to control the interactions between neighboring atoms is central to many recent discoveries in science. Advances in this area have resulted in a better understanding of quantum mechanics, the theory that describes the behavior of matter at the microscopic level, and have enabled the new field of quantum information in which quantum mechanics is used as the basis of new technologies related to encryption, information processing, and computing. Manipulating the internal states of atoms involved in chemical reactions makes it possible to produce specific targeted reaction products. Atomic interactions also give rise to collective atomic behavior that result, for example, in magnetism or superconductivity. Tuning such interactions therefore provides insights into such phenomena which, in turn, can enable the design of improved magnetic materials for computer hard drives or improved superconductors for power transmission. This project aims to improve our ability to control and manipulate atomic states and to develop a better understanding of atomic interactions. In specific, this project will heat strontium atoms in a special oven until they boil out of a small hole, forming collimated beam to atoms and then lasers will be used to pump energy into the atoms. After this, electric fields will be applied to the atoms to distort them, they will be allowed to interact, and then other lasers, electric fields, and cameras will be used to determine the results. Similar studies will be done that are complementary to these, using a laser to cool the atoms rather than heating them in an oven. As a starting point, strontium atoms in well-defined initial Rydberg states will be prepared by use of laser light. Techniques developed to manipulate the wave functions of such atoms using a carefully-tailored series of electric field pulses will be exploited to create strongly-interacting Rydberg systems. Initially, a dipole blockade will be employed to create pairs of (weakly-interacting) Rydberg atoms with well-defined separations. Their mutual interactions will then be increased by simultaneously exciting both to some selected higher state, the degree of interaction being tuned by choice of target state (and atom separation). The time evolution of the product two-electron wave packet will be examined to explore energy interchange and search for long-lived configurations where, due to their correlated motions, the electrons remain far apart. Measurements will be extended to include three, or more, strongly interacting Rydberg atoms and explore the onset of many-body effects. Attempts will also be made to create, within a single atom, long-lived two-electron-excited states, i.e., so-called planetary atoms. In addition, control of the interactions between ground state atoms through optical dressing with radiation tuned near resonance with a Rydberg state will be explored. Preliminary measurements have revealed unexpectedly large ground state atom loss rates and the processes responsible will be identified and means to mitigate them sought.