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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 1: Cold atoms I - Rydbergs (joint session A/Q)
Q 1.4: Talk
Monday, March 5, 2018, 11:15–11:30, K 0.011
Non-equilibrium criticality in driven Rydberg gases — •Graham Lochead1,2, Stephan Helmrich1, Alda Arias1,2, Henrik Hirzler1, Tobias Wintermantel1,2, Michael Buchhold3, Sebastian Diehl4, and Shannon Whitlock1,2 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69120 Heidelberg — 2Institut de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (IPCMS), University of Strasbourg, France 67200 — 3California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, CA 91125, Pasadena, U.S. — 4Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität zu Köln, D-50937 Cologne
We study the dynamics of well controlled systems of ultracold atoms excited to long-range interacting Rydberg states by an off-resonant laser field. Starting from an initial seed excitation, there is a characteristic distance at which the interaction energy precisely matches the laser detuning, thus facilitating further excitations. This interplay between coherent driving, dissipation and long-range interactions can lead to rich many body dynamics, including self similar evolution and scale invariant behavior. We present experiments on the temporal evolution of the system as a function of the amplitude of the driving field and investigate possible links to paradigmatic non-equilibrium universality classes such as directed percolation and self-organized criticality. This opens a new route to explore non-equilibrium critical phenomena in three-dimensions, and in settings where quantum and classical fluctuations can compete on an equal footing.