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arXiv · 1102.2715

Spectroscopy of a cold strontium Rydberg gas

J. Millen·G. Lochead·G. R. Corbett·R. M. Potvliege·M. P. A. Jones
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Abstract

We present a study of a cold strontium Rydberg gas. The narrowband laser excitation of Rydberg states in the range n=20-80 from a 6~mK cloud of strontium atoms is detected using the spontaneous ionization of the Rydberg atoms. Using a high-resolution step-scanning technique, we perform detailed measurements of the Stark maps of selected Rydberg states. We find excellent agreement between the measured Stark maps and a numerical calculation based on an independent-electron model. Finally we show that excitation of the second valence electron can be used to probe the dynamics of the Rydberg gas with nanosecond temporal resolution via autoionization.

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J. Millen, G. Lochead, G. R. Corbett, R. M. Potvliege, M. P. A. Jones. 2011-02-14. Spectroscopy of a cold strontium Rydberg gas. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/44/18/184001

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