Cold Rydberg atoms

这项拟议的研究将使用激光和蒸发冷却相结合的方法，在低温(绝对零度以上不到一毫开尔文)下获得Rb原子。在这样的低温下，原子可以被“原子芯片”产生的弱磁场力所束缚。原子芯片是借用半导体微制造技术在衬底上形成小(微米大小)导线图案的器件。这些原子芯片将允许我们将正常的未激发态的Rb原子放置在远离金属表面的明确定义的距离处。然后，这些原子将被激光激发到里德堡态。这些“里德堡原子”比基态或激发态较少的原子要大得多。它们由一个大轨道上的带负电的电子组成，受到剩余带正电的原子的吸引而受到弱束缚。由于这种结合很弱，电子的轨道很容易受到小的外电场的干扰。*利用里德堡原子的高电场灵敏度，我们将测量附近金属表面的电场。人们对表面附近的时变电场知之甚少。这项研究将对依靠真空中金属表面附近精确控制的电场的设备和设备的开发具有重要意义，例如基于离子陷阱的量子计算、小型化质谱仪，因此与从改进现有仪器和前沿研究设备的各种领域相关。*我们还将开发一种技术，在保持其对原子共振频率下的高频振荡电场的敏感性的同时，将低频和静电场对里德堡原子能级的影响降至最低。这将实现表面设备和里德堡原子之间的共振相互作用，可能导致一类新的混合设备，将孤立原子的最佳属性与固态设备的最佳属性结合在一起。*研究计划将涉及对本科生和研究生级别的高素质人员进行广泛的培训，培训他们掌握与高科技行业相关的技能，包括光学、激光和电子学。

The proposed research will use a combination of laser and evaporative cooling to obtain Rubidium atoms at low temperatures (less than a milliKelvin above absolute zero). At these low temperatures, atoms can be held by the weak magnetic field forces generated by "atom chips". Atom chips are devices in which small (micron sized) wires have been patterned on a substrate using techniques borrowed from semiconductor microfabrication. These atom chips will allow us to place normal unexcited Rubidium atoms at well-defined distances away from metal surfaces. These atoms will then be excited to Rydberg states using lasers. These "Rydberg atoms" are much larger than ground state or less-excited atoms. They consist of a negatively charged electron in a large orbit, weakly bound by the attraction of the positively charged remainder of the atom. Since this binding is weak, the electron's orbital is easily disturbed by small external electric fields.****Using the high electric field sensitivity of Rydberg atoms, we will measure the electric fields due to the nearby metal surface. Time-varying electric fields near surfaces are poorly understood. This research will be of relevance to the development of equipment and devices which rely on precisely controlled electric fields near metal surfaces in vacuum e.g. ion-trap based quantum computing, miniaturized mass spectrometers, and thus is relevance to a variety of areas ranging from improvement of established instrumentation and leading edge research apparatus.****We will also develop a technique that *minimizes* the influence of low-frequency and static electric fields on the energy levels of Rydberg atoms, while retaining their sensitivity to high frequency oscillating electric fields at atomic resonance frequencies. This will enable resonant interactions between surface devices and Rydberg atoms, potentially leading to a new class of hybrid devices that combine the best properties of isolated atoms with those of solid-state devices.***The research program will involve extensive training of highly qualified personnel at the undergraduate and graduate level in skills relevant to high-technology industry including: optics, lasers and electronics.********