Coulomb anti-blockade in a Rydberg gas

Bounds, A.D.; Jackson, N.C.; Hanley, R.K.; Bridge, E.M.; Huillery, P.; Jones, M.P.A.

Abstract

We perform a comprehensive investigation of the coupling between a Rydberg-dressed atomic gas and an ultra-cold plasma. Using simultaneous time-resolved measurements of both neutral atoms and ions, we show that plasma formation occurs via a Coulomb anti-blockade mechanism, in which background ions DC Stark shift nearby atoms into resonance at specific distances. The result is a highly correlated growth of the Rydberg population that shares some similarities with that previously observed for van der Waals interactions. We show that a rate equation model that couples the laser-driven Rydberg gas to the ultra-cold plasma via a Coulomb anti-blockade mechanism accurately reproduces both the plasma formation and its subsequent decay. Using long-lived high angular momentum states as a probe, we also find evidence of a crossover from Coulomb anti-blockade to Coulomb blockade at high density. As well as shedding light on loss mechanisms in Rydberg-dressed gases, our results open new ways to create low-entropy states in ultra-cold plasmas.

Citation

Bounds, A., Jackson, N., Hanley, R., Bridge, E., Huillery, P., & Jones, M. (2019). Coulomb anti-blockade in a Rydberg gas. New Journal of Physics, 21(5), Article 053026. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab1c0e

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 22, 2019
• Publication Date: May 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: May 24, 2019
• Journal: New Journal of Physics
• Electronic ISSN: 1367-2630
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 5
• Article Number: 053026
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab1c0e
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1303253
• Related Public URLs: https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.05391#