Polarization-insensitive microwave electrometry using Rydberg atoms

Abstract

We investigate the Autler-Townes splitting for Rydberg atoms dressed with linearly polarized microwave radiation, resonant with generic $S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow P_{1/2}$ and $S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow P_{3/2}$ transitions. The splitting is probed using laser light via electromagnetically-induced transparency measurements, where the transmission of probe laser light reveals a two-peak pattern. In particular, this pattern is invariant under rotation of the microwave field polarization. In consequence, we establish $S\leftrightarrow P$ Rydberg transitions as ideally suited for polarization-insensitive electrometry, contrary to recent findings [A. Chopinaud and J.D. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Appl. $16$, 024008 (2021)].