Anomalous Broadening in Driven Dissipative Rydberg Systems

E. A. Goldschmidt, T. Boulier, R. C. Brown, S. B. Koller, J. T. Young, A. V. Gorshkov, S. L. Rolston, and J. V. Porto

Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 113001 – Published 16 March 2016

Abstract

We observe interaction-induced broadening of the two-photon $5 s − 18 s$ transition in ${}^{87}{Rb}$ atoms trapped in a 3D optical lattice. The measured linewidth increases by nearly 2 orders of magnitude with increasing atomic density and excitation strength, with corresponding suppression of resonant scattering and enhancement of off-resonant scattering. We attribute the increased linewidth to resonant dipole-dipole interactions of $18 s$ atoms with blackbody induced population in nearby $n p$ states. Over a range of initial atomic densities and excitation strengths, the transition width is described by a single function of the steady-state density of Rydberg atoms, and the observed resonant excitation rate corresponds to that of a two-level system with the measured, rather than natural, linewidth. The broadening mechanism observed here is likely to have negative implications for many proposals with coherently interacting Rydberg atoms.

Received 29 October 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.113001

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic & molecular processes in external fields Atomic spectra Optical lattices & traps

Rydberg atoms & molecules

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

E. A. Goldschmidt¹, T. Boulier², R. C. Brown^2,*, S. B. Koller^2,†, J. T. Young², A. V. Gorshkov^2,3, S. L. Rolston², and J. V. Porto^2,‡

¹United States Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Maryland 20783, USA
²Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
³Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

^*Present address: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
^†Present address: Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany.
^‡porto@umd.edu