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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Simulations Of The Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction, Jacob T. Paul, Matan Peleg Jul 2015

Simulations Of The Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction, Jacob T. Paul, Matan Peleg

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

In our project we ran computations on a supercomputer to simulate experiments performed on highly excited atoms at μK temperatures. At μK temperatures the atoms are moving slowly so there are essentially no collisions of the atoms on the time scales at which we perform our experiments. In the absence of collisions the atoms exchange energy through long range dipole-dipole interactions. This exchange depends on the distances between and relative orientation of the atoms. The angular dependence between two atoms has recently been studied experimentally1 . We simulate experimentally accessible spatial arrangements to see if the effect of the …


Simulations Of The Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction, Matan Peleg, Jacob T. Paul Jul 2015

Simulations Of The Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction, Matan Peleg, Jacob T. Paul

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

We conducted simulations of Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap using the supercomputer available on campus and the COMET supercomputer provided by the NSF. Our research focused on the angular dependence of the long range interaction between Rydberg atoms. We simulated randomly distributed atoms alligned with a magnetic and electric field. We compared the simulated interaction rates for different electric field directions.


Toward Analog Quantum Computing: Simulating Designer Atomic Systems, Jacob L. Bigelow, Veronica L. Sanford Jul 2015

Toward Analog Quantum Computing: Simulating Designer Atomic Systems, Jacob L. Bigelow, Veronica L. Sanford

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

We use a magneto-optical trap to cool rubidium atoms to temperatures in the µK range. On the µs timescales of our experiment, the atoms are moving slowly enough that they appear stationary. We then excite them to a Rydberg state, where the outer electron is loosely bound. In these high energy states, the atoms can exchange energy with each other. Since the energy exchange depends on the separation and the relative orientation of the atoms, we can potentially control their interactions by controlling the spatial arrangements of the atoms. We model this system using simulations on a supercomputer …


Toward Quantum Analog Computing: Simulating Designer Atomic Systems, Veronica L. Sanford, Jacob L. Bigelow Jul 2015

Toward Quantum Analog Computing: Simulating Designer Atomic Systems, Veronica L. Sanford, Jacob L. Bigelow

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

We use a magneto-optical trap to cool rubidium atoms to temperatures in the µK range. On the µs timescales of our experiment, the atoms are moving slowly enough that they appear stationary. We then excite them to a Rydberg state, where the outer electron is loosely bound. In these high energy states, the atoms can exchange energy with each other. Since the energy exchange depends on the separation and the relative orientation of the atoms, we can potentially control their interactions by controlling the spatial arrangements of the atoms. We model this system using simulations on a supercomputer …


Imaging The Dipole-Dipole Energy Exchange Between Ultracold Rubidium Rydberg Atoms, Donald P. Fahey, Thomas J. Carroll, Michael W. Noel Jun 2015

Imaging The Dipole-Dipole Energy Exchange Between Ultracold Rubidium Rydberg Atoms, Donald P. Fahey, Thomas J. Carroll, Michael W. Noel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The long-range, anisotropic nature of the interaction among atoms in an ultracold dipolar gas leads to a rich array of possibilities for studying many-body physics. In this work, an ultracold gas of highly excited atoms is used to study energy transport due to the long-range dipole-dipole interaction. A technique is developed to measure both the internal energy states of the interacting Rydberg atoms and their positions in space. This technique is demonstrated by observing energy exchange between two spatially separated groups of Rydberg atoms excited to two different internal states. Simulations confirm the general features of the energy transport in …


Dipole-Dipole Interaction Between Rubidium Rydberg Atoms, Emily Altiere, Donald P. Fahey, Michael W. Noel, Rachel J. Smith, Thomas J. Carroll Nov 2011

Dipole-Dipole Interaction Between Rubidium Rydberg Atoms, Emily Altiere, Donald P. Fahey, Michael W. Noel, Rachel J. Smith, Thomas J. Carroll

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Ultracold Rydberg atoms in a static electric field can exchange energy via the dipole-dipole interaction. The Stark effect shifts the energy levels of the atoms which tunes the energy exchange into resonance at specific values of the electric field (F¨orster resonances). We excite rubidium atoms to Rydberg states by focusing either a 480 nm beam from a tunable dye laser or a pair of diode lasers into a magneto-optical trap. The trap lies at the center of a configuration of electrodes. We scan the electric field by controlling the voltage on the electrodes while measuring the fraction of atoms that …


Simulations Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction Between Two Spatially Separated Groups Of Rydberg Atoms, Thomas J. Carroll, Christopher Daniel, Leah Hoover, Timothy Sidie, Michael W. Noel Nov 2009

Simulations Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction Between Two Spatially Separated Groups Of Rydberg Atoms, Thomas J. Carroll, Christopher Daniel, Leah Hoover, Timothy Sidie, Michael W. Noel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The dipole-dipole interaction among ultracold Rydberg atoms is simulated. We examine a general interaction scheme in which two atoms excited to the x and x states are converted to y and y states via a Förster resonance. The atoms are arranged in two spatially separated groups, each consisting of only one species of atom. We monitor the state mixing by recording the fraction of atoms excited to the y state as the distance between the two groups is varied. With zero detuning a many-body effect that relies on always resonant interactions causes the state mixing to have a finite range. …


Many-Body Interactions In A Sample Of Ultracold Rydberg Atoms With Varying Dimensions And Densities, Thomas J. Carroll, Shubha Sunder, Michael W. Noel Mar 2006

Many-Body Interactions In A Sample Of Ultracold Rydberg Atoms With Varying Dimensions And Densities, Thomas J. Carroll, Shubha Sunder, Michael W. Noel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Ultracold highly excited atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are strongly coupled by the dipole-dipole interaction. We have investigated the importance of many-body effects by controlling the dimensionality and density of the excited sample. We excited three different cylindrical volumes of atoms in the MOT to Rydberg states. At small radius, where the sample is nearly one-dimensional, many-body interactions are suppressed. At larger radii, the sample becomes three-dimensional and many-body effects are apparent.


Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction In A Nearly One-Dimensional Sample Of Rydberg Atoms, Thomas J. Carroll, Katharine Claringbould, Anne Goodsell, M. J. Lim, Michael W. Noel Oct 2004

Angular Dependence Of The Dipole-Dipole Interaction In A Nearly One-Dimensional Sample Of Rydberg Atoms, Thomas J. Carroll, Katharine Claringbould, Anne Goodsell, M. J. Lim, Michael W. Noel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Atoms in an ultracold highly excited sample are strongly coupled through the dipole-dipole interaction. In an effort to understand and manipulate the complicated interactions in this system we are investigating their dependence on the relative orientation of the dipoles. By focusing a 480 nm beam from a tunable dye laser into a magneto-optical trap, we produce a nearly one-dimensional sample of Rydberg atoms. The trap lies at the center of four conducting rods with which we can vary the magnitude and direction of the electric field at the trap, thus controlling the orientation of the dipoles with respect to the …