Observation of Stueckelberg oscillations in dipole-dipole interactions

We have observed Stueckelberg oscillations in the dipole-dipole interaction between Rydberg atoms with an externally applied radio-frequency field. The oscillating RF field brings the interaction between cold Rydberg atoms in two separated volumes into resonance. We observe multi-photon transitions when varying the amplitude of the RF-field and the static electric field offset. The angular momentum states we use show a quadratic Stark shift, which leads to a fundamentally different behavior than linearly shifting states. Both cases are studied theoretically using the Floquet approach and are compared. The amplitude of the sidebands, related to the interaction strength, is given by the Bessel function in the linearly shifting case and by the generalized Bessel function in the quadratically shifting case. The oscillatory behavior of both functions corresponds to Stueckelberg oscillations, an interference effect described by the semi-classical Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg model. The measurements prove coherent dipole-dipole interaction during at least 0.6 micro-seconds

Designs of magnetic atom-trap lattices for quantum simulation experiments

We have designed and realized magnetic trapping geometries for ultracold atoms based on permanent magnetic films. Magnetic chip based experiments give a high level of control over trap barriers and geometric boundaries in a compact experimental setup. These structures can be used to study quantum spin physics in a wide range of energies and length scales. By introducing defects into a triangular lattice, kagome and hexagonal lattice structures can be created. Rectangular lattices and (quasi-)one-dimensional structures such as ladders and diamond chain trapping potentials have also been created. Quantum spin models can be studied in all these geometries with Rydberg atoms, which allow for controlled interactions over several micrometers. We also present some nonperiodic geometries where the length scales of the traps are varied over a wide range. These tapered structures offer another way to transport large numbers of atoms adiabatically into subwavelength traps and back.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

High-Precision Measurement of Rydberg State Hyperfine Splitting in a Room-Temperature Vapour Cell

We present direct measurements of the hyperfine splitting of Rydberg states in rubidium 87 using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) spectroscopy in a room-temperature vapour cell. With this method, and in spite of Doppler-broadening, line-widths of 3.7 MHz FWHM, i.e. significantly below the intermediate state natural linewidth are reached. This allows resolving hyperfine splittings for Rydberg s-states with n=20...24. With this method we are able to determine Rydberg state hyperfine splittings with an accuracy of approximately 100 kHz. Ultimately our method allows accuracies of order 5 kHz to be reached. Furthermore we present a direct measurement of hyperfine-resolved Rydberg state Stark-shifts. These results will be of great value for future experiments relying on excellent knowledge of Rydberg-state energies an

Cold trapped atoms detected with evanescent waves

We demonstrate the in situ detection of cold 87 Rb atoms near a dielectric surface using the absorption of a weak, resonant evanescent wave. We have used this technique in time of flight experiments determining the density of atoms falling on the surface. A quantitative understanding of the measured curve was obtained using a detailed calculation of the evanescent intensity distribution. We have also used it to detect atoms trapped near the surface in a standing-wave optical dipole potential. This trap was loaded by inelastic bouncing on a strong, repulsive evanescent potential. We estimate that we trap 1.5 x 10 4 atoms at a density 100 times higher than the falling atoms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Bounds on relative entropy of entanglement for multi-party systems

We present upper and lower bounds to the relative entropy of entanglement of multi-party systems in terms of the bi-partite entanglements of formation and distillation and entropies of various subsystems. We point out implications of our results to the local reversible convertibility of multi-party pure states and discuss their physical basis in terms of deleting of information.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

On the derivation of SPH schemes for shocks through inhomogeneous media

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is typically used for the simulation of shock propagation through solid media, commonly observed during hypervelocity impacts. Although schemes for impacts into monolithic structures have been studied using SPH, problems occur when multimaterial structures are considered. This study begins from a variational framework and builds schemes for multiphase compressible problems, coming from different density estimates. Algorithmic details are discussed and results are compared upon three one-dimensional Riemann problems of known behavior