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We demonstrate Rydberg blockade due to the charge-dipole interaction between a single Rb atom and a single RbCs molecule confined in optical tweezers. The molecule is formed by magnetoassociation of a Rb+Cs atom pair and subsequently transferred to the rovibrational ground state with an efficiency of 91(1)\%. Species-specific tweezers are used to control the separation between the atom and molecule. The charge-dipole interaction causes blockade of the transition to the Rb(52s) Rydberg state, when the atom-molecule separation is set to $310(40)$~nm. The observed excitation dynamics are in good agreement with simulations using calculated interaction potentials. Our results open up the prospect of a hybrid platform where quantum information is transferred between individually trapped molecules using Rydberg atoms., Main text contains 8 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary material is 13 pages containing 10 figures

Radio frequencies in the HF and VHF (3 MHz to 300 MHz) bands are challenging for Rydberg atom-based detection schemes, as resonant detection requires exciting the atoms to extremely high energy states. We demonstrate a method for detecting and measuring radio frequency (RF) carriers in the HF and VHF bands via a controlled Autler-Townes line splitting. Using a resonant, high-frequency (GHz) RF field, the absorption signal from Townes-Merrit sidebands created by a low frequency, non-resonant RF field can be enhanced. Notably, this technique uses a measurement of the optical frequency separation of an avoided crossing to determine the amplitude of a non-resonant, low frequency RF field. This technique also provides frequency-selective measurements of low frequency RF electric fields. To show this, we demonstrate amplitude modulated signal transduction on a low frequency VHF carrier. We further demonstrate reception of multiple tones simultaneously, creating a Rydberg `spectrum analyzer' over the VHF range., Comment: Data for figures can be found at: https://datapub.nist.gov/od/id/mds2-2852

There are few demonstrated examples of phase transitions that may be driven directly by terahertz frequency electric fields, and those that are known require field strengths exceeding 1 MV cm−1. Here we report a non-equilibrium phase transition driven by a weak (≪1 V cm−1), continuous-wave terahertz electric field. The system consists of room temperature caesium vapour under continuous optical excitation to a high-lying Rydberg state, which is resonantly coupled to a nearby level by the terahertz electric field. We use a simple model to understand the underlying physical behaviour, and we demonstrate two protocols to exploit the phase transition as a narrowband terahertz detector: the first with a fast (20 μs) non-linear response to nano-Watts of incident radiation, and the second with a linearised response and effective noise equivalent power ≤1 pW Hz−1/2. The work opens the door to a class of terahertz devices controlled with low-field intensities and operating in a room temperature environment., The nonlinear interaction between terahertz frequency electric fields and atoms or molecules can be used to study fundamental and technical problems. Here the authors demonstrate a THz–driven phase transition, with a potential application as a THz sensor, using Rydberg atomic states in a cesium vapor.

International audience; We measure the near-resonant transmission of light through a dense medium of potassium vapor confined in a cell with nanometer thickness in order to investigate the origin and validity of the collective Lamb-shift. A complete model including the multiple reflections in the nano-cell accurately reproduces the observed strong asymmetry of the line shape and allows extraction of a density dependent shift of the atomic resonance. We observe an additional, unexpected dependence of this shift with the thickness of the medium. This extra dependence demands further experimental and theoretical investigations.

Collective coupling between dipoles can dramatically modify the optical response of a medium. Such effects depend strongly on the geometry of the medium and the polarization of the light. Using a classical coupled dipole model, here we investigate the simplest case of one dimensional (1D) arrays of interacting atomic dipoles driven by a weak laser field. Changing the polarization and direction of the driving field allows us to separately address superradiant, subradiant, red-shifted, and blue-shifted eigenmodes, as well as observe strong Fano-like interferences between different modes. The cooperative eigenvectors can be characterized by the phase difference between nearest neighbor dipoles, ranging from all oscillating in phase to all oscillating out of phase with their nearest neighbors. Investigating the eigenvalue behavior as a function of atom number and lattice spacing, we find that certain eigenmodes of an infinite atomic chain have the same decay rate as a single atom between two mirrors. The effects we observe provide a framework for collective control of the optical response of a medium, giving insight into the behavior of more complicated geometries, as well as providing further evidence for the dipolar analog of cavity QED., 14 pages, 9 figures

We investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of a driven-dissipative spin ensemble with competing power-law interactions. We demonstrate that dynamical phase transitions as well as bistabilities can emerge for asymptotic van der Waals interactions, but critically rely on the presence of a slower decaying potential-core. Upon introducing random particle motion, we show that a finite gas temperature can drive a phase transition with regards to the spin degree of freedom and eventually leads to mean-field behaviour in the high-temperature limit. Our work reconciles contrasting observations of recent experiments with Rydberg atoms in the cold-gas and hot-vapour domain, and introduces an efficient theoretical framework in the latter regime., 5 pages, 5 figures

We measure the resonance line shape of atomic vapor layers with nanoscale thickness confined between two sapphire windows. The measurement is performed by scanning a probe laser through resonance and collecting the scattered light. The line shape is dominated by the effects of Dicke narrowing, self-broadening, and atom-surface interactions. By fitting the measured line shape to a simple model we discuss the possibility to extract information about the atom-surface interaction., 11 pages, 10 figures

We present a computer program and underlying model to calculate the electric susceptibility of a gas, which is essential to predict its absorptive and dispersive properties. Our program focuses on alkali-metal vapours where we use a matrix representation of the atomic Hamiltonian in the completely uncoupled basis in order to calculate transition frequencies and strengths. The program calculates various spectra for a weak-probe laser beam in an atomic medium with an applied axial magnetic field. This allows many optical devices to be designed, such as Faraday rotators/filters, optical isolators and circular polarisation filters. Fitting routines are also provided with the program which allows the user to perform optical metrology by fitting to experimental data. Program summary Program title: ElecSus Catalogue identifier: AEVD_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEVD_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Apache License, version 2 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 191 270 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 309 4994 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Python. Computer: Any single computer running Python 2. Operating system: Linux, Mac OSX, Windows. RAM: Depends on the precision required and size of the data set, but typically not larger than 50 MiB. Classification: 2.2, 2.3. External routines: SciPy library [1] 0.12.0 or later, NumPy [1], matplotlib [2] Nature of problem: Calculating the weak-probe electric susceptibility of an alkali-metal vapour. The electric susceptibility can be used to calculate spectra such as transmission and Stokes parameters. Measurements of experimental parameters can be made by fitting the theory to data. Solution method: The transition frequencies and wavelengths are calculated using a matrix representation of the Hamiltonian in the completely uncoupled basis. A suite of fitting methods are provided in order to allow user supplied experimental data to be fit to the theory, thereby allowing experimental parameters to be extracted. Restrictions: Only describes a magnetic field parallel to the laser beam propagation direction. Results are only valid in the weak-probe regime. Running time: At standard precision less than a second for a theory curve, fitting will take 10 s to 20 min depending on the method used, the number of parameters to fit and the number of data points. References: [1] T.E. Oliphant, Comput. Sci. Eng. 9, 10 (2007). http://www.scipy.org/. [2] J.D. Hunter, Comput. Sci. Eng. 9, 10 (2007). http://matplotlib.org/.

We present experimental observations of atom-light interactions within tens of nanometers (down to 11~nm) of a sapphire surface. Using photon counting we detect the fluorescence from of order one thousand Rb or Cs atoms, confined in a vapor with thickness much less than the optical excitation wavelength. The asymmetry in the spectral lineshape provides a direct read-out of the atom-surface potential. A numerical fit indicates a power-law $-C_{\alpha}/r^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha=3.02\pm0.06$ confirming that the van der Waals interaction dominates over other effects. The extreme sensitivity of our photon-counting technique may allow the search for atom-surface bound states.

We present experimental observations of atom-light interactions within tens of nanometers (down to 11~nm) of a sapphire surface. Using photon counting we detect the fluorescence from of order one thousand Rb or Cs atoms, confined in a vapor with thickness much less than the optical excitation wavelength. The asymmetry in the spectral lineshape provides a direct read-out of the atom-surface potential. A numerical fit indicates a power-law $-C_��/r^��$ with $��=3.02\pm0.06$ confirming that the van der Waals interaction dominates over other effects. The extreme sensitivity of our photon-counting technique may allow the search for atom-surface bound states.

We present an experimental study of energy transfer in a thermal vapor of atomic rubidium. We measure the fluorescence spectrum in the visible and near infra-red as a function of atomic density using confocal microscopy. At low density we observe energy transfer consistent with the well-known energy pooling process. In contrast, above a critical density we observe a dramatic enhancement of the fluorescence from high-lying states that is not to be expected from kinetic theory. We show that the density threshold for excitation on the D1 and D2 resonance line corresponds to the value at which the dipole-dipole interactions begins to dominate, thereby indicate the key role of these interactions in the enhanced emission., 8 pages, 7 figures

The implementation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a cold Rydberg gas provides an attractive route towards strong photon--photon interactions and fully deterministic all-optical quantum information processing. In this brief review we discuss the underlying principles of how large single photon non-linearities are achieved in this system and describe experimental progress to date., 50 pages, 21 figures. Preprint of book chapter submitted to the Annual Review of cold atoms and molecules \copyright (2012) [copyright World Scientific Publishing Company]

We investigate, theoretically and experimentally, absorption on an excited-state atomic transition in a thermal vapor where the lower state is coherently pumped. We find that the transition linewidth can be sub-natural, i.e. less than the combined linewidth of the lower and upper state. For the specific case of the 6P_{3/2} -> 7S_{1/2} transition in room temperature cesium vapor, we measure a minimum linewidth of 6.6 MHz compared with the natural width of 8.5 MHz. Using perturbation techniques, an expression for the complex susceptibility is obtained which provides excellent agreement with the measured spectra., 9 pages, 5 figures

We demonstrate a cooperative optical non-linearity caused by dipolar interactions between Rydberg atoms in an ultra-cold atomic ensemble. By coupling a probe transition to the Rydberg state we map the strong dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg pairs onto the optical field. We characterize the non-linearity as a function of electric field and density, and demonstrate the enhancement of the optical non-linearity due to cooperativity., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, updated references

Vortices are pervasive in nature, representing the breakdown of laminar fluid flow and hence playing a key role in turbulence. The fluid rotation associated with a vortex can be parameterized by the circulation $\Gamma=\oint {\rm d}{\bf r}\cdot{\bf v}({\bf r})$ about the vortex, where ${\bf v}({\bf r})$ is the fluid velocity field. While classical vortices can take any value of circulation, superfluids are irrotational, and any rotation or angular momentum is constrained to occur through vortices with quantized circulation. Quantized vortices also play a key role in the dissipation of transport in superfluids. In BECs quantized vortices have been observed in several forms, including single vortices, vortex lattices, and vortex pairs and rings. The recent observation of quantized vortices in a fermionic gas was taken as a clear signature of the underlying condensation and superfluidity of fermion pairs. In addition to BECs, quantized vortices also occur in superfluid Helium, nonlinear optics, and type-II superconductors., Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. Book chapter to appear in "Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein condensates: Theory and Experiment" (Springer-Verlag).

We study bright solitary waves of three dimensional trapped Bose-Einstein condensates and their collisions. For a single solitary wave, in addition to an upper critical number, we also find a {\em lower} cut-off, below which no stable state can be found. Collisions between solitary waves can be elastic, inelastic with either reduced or increased outgoing speed, or completely unstable due to a collapse instability. A $\pi$-phase difference between the waves promotes elastic collisions, and gives excellent agreement with recent experimental results over long timescales., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Josephson weak links in superconductors can be engineered such that the phase difference across the junction is $\pi$ ($\pi$-junction),leading to the reversal of the current. The conditions under which the analogous effect of supercurrent counterflow can be achieved in a double-well atomic Bose-Einstein condensate are investigated. It is shown that this effect is observable for condensates up to a few thousand atoms, which are initially prepared in an anti-symmetric '$\pi$-state' and subsequently subjected to a uniformly increasing magnetic field gradient. This effect is found to be only weakly-dependent on trap geometry, and can be observed in both attractive and repulsive condensates., Comment: A substantially revised manuscript (some figures removed, improved discussion and some additional material) is available on cond-mat/0312396

The elementary processes involved in the decay of superfluid turbulence in the limit of low temperature are studied by numerical simulations of vortex ring collisions. We find that small vortex rings produced by reconnections eventually annihilate in a collision where all their energy is converted into Kelvin waves and sound. We show that sound emission due to Kelvin waves also leads to a loss of vortex line length but this dissipation mechanism alone is too small to account for the experimentally observed decay.

We simulate the motion of a massive object through a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate by numerical solution of the non-linear Schr\"odinger equation coupled to an equation of motion for the object. Under a constant applied force, the object accelerates up to a maximum velocity where a vortex ring is formed which slows the object down. If the applied force is less than a critical value, the object becomes trapped within the vortex core. We show that the motion can be described using the time-independent quantum states, and use these states to predict the conditions required for vortex scattering., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Europhysics Letters

Accurate assessment of the pregnancy status of cattle 3-7 days following conception, in conjunction with prostaglandin administration, could significantly decrease the average days open. The Early Conception Factor (ECF™) test kit (Concepto Diagnostics, Knoxville, Tenn) reportedly detects the open status of a cow 3-15 days post-breeding through the detection of a protein designated Early Conception Factor in the serum of pregnant cows. A protein of this type has been discussed by Threlfall.1 In order to determine the accuracy of the ECF™ test, sera from 150 dairy cows 3-7 days post-breeding were tested, using the ECF™ test kits. These cattle were then examined for pregnancy by rectal palpation by veterinarians 41-59 days post- breeding., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 1999

Serum immunoglobulin in calves is highly correlated with the mass of immunoglobulin in colostrum fed in the first 24 hours of life. The immunoglobulin concentration of colostrum can be estimated by determining its specific gravity, using a hydrometer. When the specific gravity of colostrum is undetermined, feeding 3. 78 L of colostrum reportedly results in an adequate serum immunoglobulin concentration in calves. The objective of this study was to compare the serum immunoglobulin in calves fed the same mass of immunoglobulin in two different volumes of fluid., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 1998

We solve the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii in 2-D to simulate the flow of an object through a dilute Bose condensate trapped in a harmonic well. We demonstrate vortex formation and analyze the process in terms of the accumulation of phase-slip and the evolution of the fluid velocity., 4 pages, 5 figures

We present, experimentally and theoretically, a scheme for dressed-state electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a three-step cascade system in which a four-level system is mapped into an effective three-level system. Theoretical analysis reveals that the scheme provides coherent-state control via adiabatic following and a generalized protocol for light storage in uniform phase spin-waves that are insensitive to motional dephasing. The three-step driving enables a number of other features, including spatial selectivity of the excitation region within the atomic medium, and kick-free and Doppler-free excitation that produces narrow resonances in thermal vapor. As a proof of concept, we present an experimental demonstration of the generalized EIT scheme using the 6S1/2→6P3/2→7S1/2→8P1/2 excitation path in thermal cesium vapor. This technique could be applied to cold and thermal ensembles to enable longer storage times for Rydberg polaritons.