Detrimental adsorbate fields in experiments with cold Rydberg gases near surfaces

Abstract

We observe the shift of Rydberg levels of rubidium close to a copper surface when atomic clouds are repeatedly deposited on it. We measure transition frequencies of rubidium to S and D Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers n between 31 and 48 using the technique of electromagnetically induced transparency. The spectroscopic measurement shows a strong increase of electric fields towards the surface that evolves with the deposition of atoms. Starting with a clean surface, we measure the evolution of electrostatic fields in the range between 30 and 300 \mum from the surface. We find that after the deposition of a few hundred atomic clouds, each containing ~10^6 atoms, the field of adsorbates reaches 1 V/cm for a distance of 30 \mum from the surface. This evolution of the electrostatic field sets serious limitations on cavity QED experiments proposed for Rydberg atoms on atom chips.

4 pages, 3 figures Submitted to Phys. Rev. A

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• Demonstration of Two-Qubit Algorithms with a Superconducting Quantum Processor
• Reversible state transfer between superconducting qubits and atomic ensembles
• Spatially Resolved Excitation of Rydberg Atoms and Surface Effects on an Atom Chip
• Quantum information processing with single photons and atomic ensembles in microwave coplanar waveguide resonators
• Measuring Electric Fields From Surface Contaminants with Neutral Atoms
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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Electric field sensing near the surface microstructure of an atom chip using cold Rydberg atoms
• Measurement and numerical calculation of Rubidium Rydberg Stark spectra
• Rydberg atoms with a reduced sensitivity to dc and low-frequency electric fields
• State-selective all-optical detection of Rydberg atoms