Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 64: Poster – Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC (joint session A/Q)

Q 64.7: Poster

Thursday, March 5, 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 1. OG

Studying Rydberg-atom-ion interactions with a high-resolution ion microscope — •Maximilian Futterknecht¹, Jennifer Krauter¹, Óscar Andrey Herrera-Sancho¹, Florian Anschütz¹, Utzuri Högl Vidal¹, Moritz Berngruber², Florian Meinert¹, Robert Löw¹, and Tilman Pfau¹ — ¹5th Institute of Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart — ²Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching

Our high-resolution ion microscope enables the spatio-temporally resolved study of interactions between Rydberg atoms and ions in a bulk gas of ultra-cold Rubidium atoms. The apparatus has an achievable lateral resolution of at least 200 nm and allows for three-dimensional imaging. In previous years, the setup was used to study the formation and dynamics of a molecular bond between a single ion and a Rydberg atom, as well as the dynamics of unbound atom-ion states. We plan to extend this endeavor by introducing a second Rydberg state. In an unbound configuration, interactions between two Rydberg states tuned by Förster resonances should be experimentally studied. In a next step, we want to create Rydberg-Rydberg-ion bound states by independently exciting two Rydberg states around a central ion. By state-selective extraction of the three constituents of the formed trimers, we plan to tackle the challenge of distinguishing the three particles on our ion detector and detect triple-coincidences. Spectroscopic measurements and high-resolution imaging will be used to extract information on the electronic and spatial structure of the three-body system.

Keywords: Rydberg Physics; Ion Microscope; Atom-Ion-Interactions