Electromagnetically induced transparency in ultracold Rydberg gases |
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| Matthias Weidemüller | |
| Universität Heidelberg | |
| Due to the long-range character of the interaction between highly excited atoms, the dynamics of an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms is entirely determined by van-der-Waals and dipole-dipole interactions. One outstanding property is the tunability of the strength and the character of the interactions with static electric fields. This allows one to explore the transition from a weakly coupled two-body system to a strongly coupled many-body system. The long-range interaction leads to many-body entanglement and has possible applications in quantum computing.
We studied coherent phenomena in an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms under the influence of dipolar interactions. In a recent series of experiments, we have explored coherent population trapping under the influence of long-range van-der-Waals forces. Currently, we are studying electromagnetically induced transparency in the Rydberg excitation out of a quantum-degenerate gas. |