Intrinsic Optical Bistability in a Strongly-Driven Rydberg Ensemble

de Melo, Natalia R.; Wade, Christopher G.; Šibalić, Nikola; Kondo, Jorge M.; Adams, Charles S.; Weatherill, Kevin J.

Abstract

We observe and characterize intrinsic optical bistability in a dilute Rydberg vapor. The bistability is characterized by sharp jumps between states of low and high Rydberg occupancy with jump-up and -down positions displaying hysteresis depending on the direction in which the control parameter is changed. We find that the shift in frequency of the jump point scales with the fourth power of the principal quantum number. Also, the width of the hysteresis window increases with increasing principal quantum number, before reaching a peak and then closing again. The experimental results are consistent with predictions from a simple theoretical model based on semiclassical Maxwell–Bloch equations including the effects of interaction-induced broadening and level shifts. These results provide insight into the dynamics of driven dissipative systems.

Citation

de Melo, N. R., Wade, C. G., Šibalić, N., Kondo, J. M., Adams, C. S., & Weatherill, K. J. (2016). Intrinsic Optical Bistability in a Strongly-Driven Rydberg Ensemble. Physical Review A, 93(6), Article 063863. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.93.063863

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2016
• Journal: Physical Review A
• Print ISSN: 2469-9926
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9934
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 93
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 063863
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.93.063863
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1410451
• Related Public URLs: http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.01449