Time Dependence of Few-Body F\"orster Interactions among Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

Time Dependence of Few-Body Förster Interactions among Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

Zhimin Cheryl Liu, Nina P. Inman, Thomas J. Carroll, and Michael W. Noel

Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 133402 – Published 31 March 2020

Abstract

Rubidium Rydberg atoms in either $| m_{j} |$ sublevel of the $36 p_{3 / 2}$ state can exchange energy via Stark-tuned Förster resonances, including two-, three-, and four-body dipole-dipole interactions. Three-body interactions of this type were first reported and categorized by Faoro et al. [Nat. Commun. 6, 8173 (2015)] and their Borromean nature was confirmed by Tretyakov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 173402 (2017)]. We report the time dependence of the $N$ -body Förster resonance $N \times 36 p_{3 / 2, | m_{j} | = 1 / 2} \to 36 s_{1 / 2} + 37 s_{1 / 2} + (N - 2) \times 36 p_{3 / 2, | m_{j} | = 3 / 2}$ , for $N = 2$ , 3, and 4, by measuring the fraction of initially excited atoms that end up in the $37 s_{1 / 2}$ state as a function of time. The essential features of these interactions are captured in an analytical model that includes only the many-body matrix elements and neighboring atom distribution. A more sophisticated simulation reveals the importance of beyond-nearest-neighbor interactions and of always-resonant interactions.

Received 24 November 2019
Accepted 17 March 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.133402

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Dipolar gases Long-range interactions Optical lattices & traps Ultracold collisions

Rydberg atoms & molecules Ultracold gases

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Zhimin Cheryl Liu^1,2, Nina P. Inman ¹, Thomas J. Carroll ³, and Michael W. Noel ¹

¹Department of Physics, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010, USA
²Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
³Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426, USA