Strongly correlated growth of Rydberg aggregates in a vapor cell

Abstract

The observation of strongly interacting many-body phenomena in atomic gases typically requires ultracold samples. Here we show that the strong interaction potentials between Rydberg atoms enable the observation of many-body effects in an atomic vapor, even at room temperature. We excite Rydberg atoms in cesium vapor and observe in real-time an out-of-equilibrium excitation dynamics that is consistent with an aggregation mechanism. The experimental observations show qualitative and quantitative agreement with a microscopic theoretical model. Numerical simulations reveal that the strongly correlated growth of the emerging aggregates is reminiscent of soft-matter type systems.

5+3 pages, 3+3 figures, 1 table

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• The interplay between thermal Rydberg gases and plasmas
• Spontaneous avalanche dephasing in large Rydberg ensembles
• De-excitation spectroscopy of strongly interacting Rydberg gases
• Many-body dynamics of holes in a driven, dissipative spin chain of Rydberg superatoms
• Robust coherent transport of light in multi-level hot atomic vapors
• Anomalous excitation facilitation in inhomogeneously broadened Rydberg gases
• Radiation trapping in a dense cold Rydberg gas
• Controlling excitation avalanches in driven Rydberg gases
• Quench dynamics of a dissipative Rydberg gas in the classical and quantum regime