Characterizing the local vectorial electric field near an atom chip using Rydberg-state spectroscopy

Abstract

We use the sensitive response to electric fields of Rydberg atoms to characterize all three vector components of the local electric field close to an atom-chip surface. We measured Stark-Zeeman maps of S and D Rydberg states using an elongated cloud of ultracold Rubidium atoms (T ∼ 2.5 µK) trapped magnetically 100 µm from the chip surface. The spectroscopy of S states yields a calibration for the generated local electric field at the position of the atoms. The values for different components of the field are extracted from the more complex response of D states to the combined electric and magnetic fields. From the analysis we find residual fields in the two uncompensated directions of 0.0 ± 0.2 V/cm and 1.98 ± 0.09 V/cm respectively. This method also allows us to extract a value for the relevant field gradient along the long axis of the cloud. The manipulation of electric fields and the magnetic trapping are both done using on-chip wires, making this setup a promising candidate to observe Rydberg-mediated interactions on a chip.

Medium-finesse optical cavity for the stabilization of Rydberg lasers

“…The cavity and the laser system locked to it are now being successfully applied to excite Rydberg atoms and perform Rydberg spectroscopy of ultracold rubidium atoms in our laboratory [48].…”

Measurement of the hyperfine coupling constant for nS1/2 Rydberg states of Rb85

“…We zero stray electric fields down to 0.2 mV/cm through the use of three pairs of electrodes that generate homogeneous orthogonal electric fields. The electric field is zeroed by first performing Stark spectroscopy [19] on nF Rydberg states, which have large electric polarizabilities. The peak locations of the nF Rydberg lines are measured as a function of voltages applied to the in-vacuum electrodes, one direction at a time.…”

Designs of magnetic atom-trap lattices for quantum simulation experiments

“…Several experiments have demonstrated techniques to reduce these stray fields [26][27][28][29]. A dramatic reduction was achieved by depositing a thin film of metallic Rb in a cryogenic environment [29].…”