Rostock 2019 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 7: Ultracold Plasmas and Rydberg Systems
Q 7.3: Vortrag
Montag, 11. März 2019, 11:00–11:15, S SR 211 Maschb.
Experimental Observation of a Resonantly Enhanced Optical Nonlinearity in a Rydberg Gas — •Annika Tebben1, Clément Hainaut1, Valentin Walther2, Yongchang Zhang2, André Salzinger1, Renato Ferracini Alves1, Nithiwadee Thaicharoen1, Gerhard Zürn1, Thomas Pohl2, and Matthias Weidemüller1,3 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69129 Heidelberg, Germany — 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark — 3Shanghai Branch, University of Science and Technology of China, Shanghai 201315, China
Large optical nonlinearities can be reached by coupling light to a strongly interacting Rydberg gas under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). For understanding the nonlinear, nonlocal response in such a medium, investigating the crossover from a non-interacting to an interacting Rydberg gas in the regime of low optical depth per blockade radius is crucial. In this work, we theoretically develop and experimentally observe the existence of a resonant enhancement of the nonlinear response in this regime. The effect can be modelled only if the intermediate state of the atomic three-level system, which is typically adiabatically eliminated, is explicitly included in the theoretical description. We report on the experimental investigation of this resonance effect and its implications on the absorption and refraction of the propagating probe field.