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A: Atomphysik
A 15: Poster 2
A 15.28: Poster
Thursday, March 25, 2004, 14:00–16:00, Schellingstr. 3
Experiment for the preparation of an ultracold dense gas of Rydberg atoms — •Markus Reetz-Lamour1, Kilian Singer1, Thomas Amthor1, Simon Fölling2, and Matthias Weidemüller1 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Universität Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg — 2Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, 55128 Mainz
We report on an experiment, which is designed to investigate many-body
effects in a dense gas of cold Rydberg atoms. Our setup consists of a very
compact vacuum system where 108 87Rb atoms at a density of
1010cm−3 are confined in a magneto-optical trap. The
magnetic field is provided by coils inside the vacuum, the atoms are loaded
from dispensers.
After trapping and cooling down to 1µK with degenerate 3D Raman
sideband cooling [1] the atoms are excited via a 2-photon transition to
Rydberg states (n = 40…∞) with two narrow-bandwidth diode
laser systems. The excited atoms are detected by field ionization.
We present our technological approach and first measurements aimed at the
observation of the ”dipole blockade”[2]. This interaction effect is a
preliminary step towards quantum computation with Rydberg atoms. The
perspectives of the experiment for many-body physics will be discussed.
[1] P. Treutlein et al., Phys. Rev. A. 63, 051401R (2001).
[2] M. D. Lukin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 037901 (2001).