2004/04/30 by Kilian Singer, Markus Reetz-Lamour, Thomas Amthor +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.atom-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.93.163001
arxiv created 2004/07/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We report on the observation of ultralong range interactions in a gas of cold Rubidium Rydberg atoms. The van-der-Waals interaction between a pair of Rydberg atoms separated as far as 100,000 Bohr radii features two important effects: Spectral broadening of the resonance lines and suppression of excitation with increasing density. The density dependence of these effects is investigated in detail for the S- and P- Rydberg states with main quantum numbers n ~ 60 and n ~ 80 excited by narrow-band continuous-wave laser light. The density-dependent suppression of excitation can be interpreted as the onset of an interaction-induced local blockade.