Observation of Rydberg Blockade Induced by a Single Ion

We study the long-range interaction of a single ion with a highly excited ultracold Rydberg atom and report on the direct observation of an ion-induced Rydberg excitation blockade mediated over tens of micrometer distances. Our hybrid ion-atom system is directly produced from an ultracold atomic ens...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2018-11, Vol.121 (19), p.193401-193401
Main Authors: Engel, F, Dieterle, T, Schmid, T, Tomschitz, C, Veit, C, Zuber, N, Löw, R, Pfau, T, Meinert, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electric fields
Excitation
Hybrid systems
Organic chemistry
Photoionization
Quantum entanglement
Quantum numbers
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Summary:We study the long-range interaction of a single ion with a highly excited ultracold Rydberg atom and report on the direct observation of an ion-induced Rydberg excitation blockade mediated over tens of micrometer distances. Our hybrid ion-atom system is directly produced from an ultracold atomic ensemble via near-threshold photoionization of a single Rydberg excitation, employing a two-photon scheme that is specifically suited for generating a very low-energy ion. The ion's motion is precisely controlled by small electric fields, which allows us to analyze the blockade mechanism for a range of principal quantum numbers. Finally, we explore the capability of the ion as a high-sensitivity, single-atom-based electric field sensor. The observed ion-Rydberg-atom interaction is of current interest for entanglement generation or studies of ultracold chemistry in hybrid ion-atom systems.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.193401