Bryn Mawr College

Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

Michael W. Noel
Department of Physics
Bryn Mawr College

Current research focuses on an experimental study of ultracold samples of highly excited atoms.  The impact of these experiments is quite broad, with connections to condensed matter physics of spin glasses and crystals; low temperature atomic, molecular, and optical physics involving many body interactions; and low temperature plasma physics.  Specifically, we study the properties of a novel type of "designer solid" consisting of a sample of ultracold Rydberg atoms that are strongly coupled by dipole-dipole interactions.  Rydberg atoms have one highly excited electron, giving them exaggerated properties such as extreme sensitivity to electric fields and large polarizabilities. Recent studies of amorphous samples have investigated the nature of the resonant energy transfer among the atoms forming a strongly coupled spin glass. This energy transfer can occur over a very long range and involves complicated many body interactions.  These "solids" differ from typical solids in that the spacing between atoms is quite large yet the couplings remain strong because of the exaggerated properties of the Rydberg atoms.  We will manipulate the energy transfer in this designer solid by controlling the atomic sample using optical lattices, inhomogeneous fields, and localized Rydberg excitations to form a novel type of strongly coupled spin crystal.  We will also investigate the potential for using this strongly coupled spin system to produce the entanglement necessary for quantum computations.

Funding for this research is provided by Bryn Mawr College and The National Science Foundation (CAREER: Rydberg Atom Crystals, #0134676)

Research Group

Becka Pouy
Undergraduate Student

Mary Lyon
Undergraduate Student

Pete Maenner
Graduate Student

Tom Carroll
Graduate Student
Research Project: Control of interactions between highly-excited ultra-cold atoms

Alumni

Aditi Vashist
Undergraduate Student, summer 2005
Summer Project: Far off Resonance Trapping

Maeve O'Hara
Undergraduate Student, summer 2005
Summer Project: Interactive Demonstrations for the Ball of Physics

Cordelia Ochis
Undergraduate Student, summer 2005
Summer Project: Dipole-Dipole Interactions in a Reduced Dimensionality Frozen Rydberg Gas

Charles Collett
Undergraduate Student, summer 2005
Summer Project: Far off Resonance Trapping

Shubha Sunder
A.B. May 2005, Marshall Fellow
Senior Thesis: Many-Body Effects in a Frozen Rydberg Gas

Sebastian Mankowski
B.A. May 2005 (Haverford College)
Senior Thesis: Construction of a Magneto-Optical Trap

Ahmed Rashed
M.A. December 2003
Masters Thesis: Generating Half-Cycle Electrical Pulses with Infrared Light

Michael Lim
Postdoctoral Research associate, September 2002 – August 2003

Flora Shepherd
Undergraduate student, summer 2003
Summer Project: Development of a physics outreach program, Ball of Physics

Mary Kutteruf
A.B. May 2003, Marshall Fellow
Senior Thesis: Exciting Lithium Atoms to Rydberg States

Equa Anane-Fenin
Undergraduat student, summer 2002
Summer Project: Computer Interfacing for Data Acquision and Control

Anne Goodsell
A.B. May 2002, Marshall Fellow
Senior Thesis: Atom Trapping - Stable Operation and Trap Characterization

Ellen Kruger
A.B. May 2002
Senior Thesis: Construction of a Diode Laser for Far-Off Resonance trapping

Katharine Claringbould
A.B. May 2001
Senior Thesis: Construction of a Magneto-optical Trap for Laser Cooling and Trapping