Düsseldorf 2007 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 20: Atomic Systems in External Fields II

A 20.1: Hauptvortrag

Donnerstag, 22. März 2007, 11:30–12:00, 6G

Controlling Ultracold Rydberg Atoms in the Quantum Regime — •Igor Lesanovsky — Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation, Universität Innsbruck, Austria

Controlling the external quantum state of ultracold ground state atoms by means of magnetic fields is nowadays a well-established experimental technique. Even in steep magnetic traps the inhomogeneous field varies on scales much larger than the extension of an atom. Hence, atoms can be regarded as point-particles exposed to a quasi-homogeneous field. For Rydberg atoms whose size can be of the order of micrometers this is no longer the case and consequently the internal atomic structure must be taken into account. Therefore it is difficult to make a priori predictions on whether trapping is possible or not. By solving the Schrödinger equation we demonstrate that bound states of the center of mass motion of Rydberg atoms exist in standard magnetic traps. We illuminate a novel class of states where the extension of the electronic Rydberg wave function becomes equal to or even exceeds the size of the center of mass state and outline a way to generate a low-dimensional ultracold Rydberg gas.

[1] I. Lesanovsky and P. Schmelcher, PRL 95, 053001 (2005)

[2] I. Lesanovsky and P. Schmelcher, PRA 72, 053410 (2005)

[3] B. Hezel, I. Lesanovsky and P. Schmelcher, PRL 97, 223001 (2006)