Cooperative Atom-Light Interaction in a Blockaded Rydberg Ensemble
Abstract
By coupling a probe transition to a Rydberg state using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) we map the strong dipole-dipole interactions onto an optical field. We characterize the resulting cooperative optical nonlinearity as a function of probe strength and density. We demonstrate good quantitative agreement between the experiment and an N-atom cooperative model for N=3 atoms per blockade sphere and the n=60 Rydberg state. The measured linewidth of the EIT resonance places an upper limit on the dephasing rate of the blockade spheres of <110kHz.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- November 2010
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1006.4087
- Bibcode:
- 2010PhRvL.105s3603P
- Keywords:
-
- 42.50.Nn;
- 32.80.Rm;
- 34.20.Cf;
- 42.50.Gy;
- Quantum optical phenomena in absorbing dispersive and conducting media;
- Multiphoton ionization and excitation to highly excited states;
- Interatomic potentials and forces;
- Effects of atomic coherence on propagation absorption and amplification of light;
- electromagnetically induced transparency and absorption;
- Quantum Physics;
- Physics - Atomic Physics
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 4 figures