2024/04/20 by Biplab Dutta, J. C. de Aquino Carvalho, Dutta, Biplab +13
Physics and Astronomy · #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum Mechanics and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2404.13354
In the extreme near-field, when the spatial extension of the atomic wavefunction is no longer negligible compared to the atom-surface distance, the dipole approximation is no longer sufficient to describe Casimir-Polder interactions. Here we calculate the higher-order, quadrupole and octupole, contributions to Casimir-Polder energy shifts of Rydberg atoms close to a dielectric surface. We subsequently investigate the effects of these higher-order terms in thin-cell and selective reflection spectroscopy. Beyond its fundamental interest, this new regime of extremely small atom surface separations is relevant for quantum technology applications with Rydberg or surface-bound atoms interfacing with photonic platforms.