Description:

Abstract: Rydberg atoms are an effective tool for research in fundamental physics, high-precision measurement and novel quantum technologies for RF and THz field sensing. Modulated ponderomotive optical lattices for Rydberg atoms are employed to perform high-precision spectroscopy on Rydberg transitions. This new method is Doppler-free and much less constrained by selection rules than other spectroscopies. Here, cold rubidium atoms are trapped in a 1064-nm optical lattice. Lattice-modulation sub-THz spectroscopy is performed on several Rydberg transitions. Experimental results are modeled with several quantum and semi-classical approaches, which will be discussed in some detail. In ongoing work, an independent measurement of the Rydberg constant with circular Rydberg atoms is pursued. This goal is motivated by recent high-precision-spectroscopy results on hydrogen and deuterium that have given rise to the “proton radius puzzle,” i.e., an inconsistency that involves the Rydberg constant and the nuclear charge radius. Circular Rydberg atoms allow for an independent measurement of the Rydberg constant because they are not susceptible to electron wave-function overlap with the nuclear charge density, and their quantum-electrodynamics corrections are negligible. A measurement of the Rydberg constant with circular Rydberg atoms in modulated lattices will help resolving the proton radius puzzle. Rydberg atoms can also serve as highly effective, resonant, tunable and receivers for RF and THz signals. These atom-based receivers operate at room-temperature, have all-optically-coupled sensor heads, and do not require calibration. Rydberg-atom field sensors and some of their potential applications will be discussed.

Professor Georg Raithel, University of Michigan

Keywords: CFP, Physics