arXiv subjects

J. D. Carter

Publications and source records attributed to J. D. Carter.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Fabrication of an atom chip for Rydberg atom-metal surface interaction studies

An atom chip has been fabricated for the study of interactions between $^{87}$Rb Rydberg atoms and a Au surface. The chip tightly confines cold atoms by generating high magnetic field gradients using microfabricated current-carrying wires. These trapped atoms may be excited to Rydberg states at well-defined atom-surface distances. For the purpose of Rydberg atom-surface interaction studies, the chip has a thermally evaporated Au surface layer, separated from the underlying trapping wires by a planarizing polyimide dielectric. Special attention was paid to the edge roughness of the trapping wires, the planarization of the polyimide, and the grain structure of the Au surface.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2021

On the variation of of bi-periodic waves in the transverse direction

Bi-periodic patterns of waves that propagate in the x direction with amplitude variation in the y direction are generated in a laboratory. The amplitude variation in the y direction is studied within the framework of the vector (vNLSE) and scalar (sNLSE) nonlinear Schrodinger equations using the uniform-amplitude, Stokes-like solution of the vNLSE and the Jacobi elliptic sine function solution of the sNLSE. The wavetrains are generated using the Stokes-like solution of vNLSE; however, a comparison of both predictions shows that while they both do a reasonably good job of predicting the observed amplitude variation in y, the comparison with the elliptic function solution of the sNLSE has significantly less error. Additionally, for agreement with the vNLSE solution, a third harmonic in y term from a Stokes-type expansion of interacting, symmetric wavetrains must be included. There is no evidence of instability growth in the x-direction, consistent with the work of Segur and colleagues, who showed that dissipation stabilizes the modulational instability. There is some extra amplitude variation in y, which is examined via a qualitative stability calculation that allows symmetry breaking in that direction.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2015

Frequency downshift in a viscous fluid

In this paper, we derive a viscous generalization of the Dysthe (1979) system from the weakly viscous generalization of the Euler equations introduced by Dias, Dyachenko, and Zakharov (2008). This "viscous Dysthe" system models the evolution of a weakly viscous, nearly monochromatic wave train on deep water. It contains a term which provides a mechanism for frequency downshifting in the absence of wind and wave breaking. The equation does not preserve the spectral mean. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the spectral mean typically decreases and that the spectral peak decreases for certain initial conditions. The linear stability analysis of the plane-wave solutions of the viscous Dysthe system demonstrates that waves with wave numbers closer to zero decay more slowly than waves with wave numbers further from zero. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical simulations of the NLS, dissipative NLS, Dysthe, and viscous Dysthe systems establish that the viscous Dysthe system accurately models data from experiments in which frequency downshifting was observed and experiments in which frequency downshift was not observed.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Coherent manipulation of cold Rydberg atoms near the surface of an atom chip

Coherent superpositions of the 49s and 48s Rydberg states of cold Rb atoms were studied near the surface of an atom chip. The superpositions were created and manipulated using microwaves resonant with the two-photon 49s-48s transition. Coherent behavior was observed using Rabi flopping, Ramsey sequences, spin-echo and spin-locking. These results are discussed in the context of Rydberg atoms as electric field noise sensors. We consider the coherence of systems quadratically coupled to noise fields with 1/f^k power spectral densities (k \approx 1).

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Rydberg atoms with a reduced sensitivity to dc and low-frequency electric fields

A non-resonant microwave dressing field at 38.465 GHz was used to eliminate the static electric dipole moment difference between the $49s_{1/2}$ and $48s_{1/2}$ Rydberg states of $^{87}$Rb in dc fields of approximately 1 V/cm. The reduced susceptibility to electric field fluctuations was measured using 2-photon microwave spectroscopy. An anomalous spectral doublet is attributed to polarization ellipticity in the dressing field. The demonstrated ability to inhibit static dipole moment differences --- while retaining sensitivity to high frequency fields --- is applicable to sensors and/or quantum devices using Rydberg atoms.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2012

Electric field sensing near the surface microstructure of an atom chip using cold Rydberg atoms

The electric fields near the heterogeneous metal/dielectric surface of an atom chip were measured using cold atoms. The atomic sensitivity to electric fields was enhanced by exciting the atoms to Rydberg states that are 10^8 times more polarizable than the ground state. We attribute the measured fields to charging of the insulators between the atom chip wires. Surprisingly, it is observed that these fields may be dramatically lowered with appropriate voltage biasing, suggesting configurations for the future development of hybrid quantum systems.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Energy shifts of Rydberg atoms due to patch fields near metal surfaces

The statistical properties of patch electric fields due to a polycrystalline metal surface are calculated. The fluctuations in the electric field scale like 1/z^2, when z >> w, where z is the distance to the surface, and w is the characteristic length scale of the surface patches. For typical thermally evaporated gold surfaces these field fluctuations are comparable to the image field of an elementary charge, and scale in the same way with distance to the surface. Expressions for calculating the statistics of the inhomogeneous broadening of Rydberg atom energies due to patch electric fields are presented. Spatial variations in the patch fields over the Rydberg orbit are found to be insignificant.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Fully nonlinear weakly dispersive modelling of wave transformation, breaking and runup

To describe the strongly nonlinear dynamics of waves propagating in the final stages of shoaling and in the surf and swash zones, fully nonlinear models are required. The ability of the Serre or Green Naghdi (S-GN) equations to reproduce this nonlinear processes is reviewed. Two high-order methods for solving S-GN equations, based on Finite Volume approaches, are presented. The first one is based on a quasi-conservative form of the S-GN equations, and the second on a hybrid Finite Volume/Finite Difference method. We show the ability of these two approaches to accurately simulate nonlinear shoaling, breaking and runup processes.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2006

Resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between cold Rydberg atoms in a magnetic field

Laser cooled Rb atoms were optically excited to 46d Rydberg states. A microwave pulse transferred a fraction of the atoms to the 47p Rydberg state. The resonant electric dipole-dipole interactions between atoms in these two states were probed using the linewidth of the two-photon microwave transition 46d-47d. The presence of a weak magnetic field (approximately 0.5 G) reduced the observed line broadening, indicating that the interaction is suppressed by the field. The field removes some of the energy degeneracies responsible for the resonant interaction, and this is the basis for a quantitative model of the resulting suppression. A technique for the calibration of magnetic field strengths using the 34s-34p one-photon transition is also presented.

physics.atom-ph↗