Characterizing the local vectorial electric field near an atom chip using Rydberg state spectroscopy

Abstract

We use the sensitive response to electric fields of Rydberg atoms to characterize all three vector components of the local electric field close to an atom-chip surface. We measured Stark-Zeeman maps of $S$ and $D$ Rydberg states using an elongated cloud of ultracold Rubidium atoms ($T\sim 2.5$ $\mu$K) trapped magnetically $100$ $\mu$m from the chip surface. The spectroscopy of $S$ states yields a calibration for the generated local electric field at the position of the atoms. The values for different components of the field are extracted from the more complex response of $D$ states to the combined electric and magnetic fields. From the analysis we find residual fields in the two uncompensated directions of $0.0\pm 0.2$ V/cm and $1.98\pm 0.09$ V/cm respectively. This method also allows us to extract a value for the relevant field gradient along the long axis of the cloud. The manipulation of electric fields and the magnetic trapping are both done using on-chip wires, making this setup a promising candidate to observe Rydberg-mediated interactions on a chip.

arXiv comment8 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

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• From coherent collective excitation to Rydberg blockade on an atom chip
• Controlling Stray Electric Fields on an Atom Chip for Rydberg Experiments
• Interplay between van der Waals and dipole-dipole interactions among Rydberg atoms
• Designs of magnetic atom-trap lattices for quantum simulation experiments