arXiv subjects

Thomas C. Killian

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas C. Killian.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Probing the topological phase transition in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model using Rydberg-atom synthetic dimensions

We simulate the the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model using Rydberg-atom synthetic dimensions constructed, in a single atom, from a ladder of six neighboring $n\:^3S_1$ Rydberg states in which adjacent states are coupled with two-photon transitions using microwave fields. Alternating strong/weak tunneling rates, controlled by adjusting the microwave amplitudes, are varied to map out the topological phase transition as a function of the ratio of the tunneling rates. For each ratio, quench dynamics experiments, in which the system is initially prepared in one of the bulk Rydberg states and then subjected to the microwave fields, are performed to measure the population evolution of the system. From the dynamics measurements, we extract the mean chiral displacement and verify that its long-time average value converges towards the system winding number. The topological phase transition is also examined by probing the energy spectrum of the system in steady state and observing the disappearance of the zero-energy edge states. The results show that even a system with as few as six levels can demonstrate the essential characteristics of the SSH Hamiltonian.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Expansion of Ultracold Neutral Plasmas with Exponentially Decaying Density Distributions

We present a study of the expansion of an ultracold neutral plasma (UCNP) with an initial density distribution that decays exponentially in space, created by photoionizing atoms shortly after their release from a quadrupole (or biconic cusp) magnetic trap. A characteristic ion acoustic timescale is evident in the evolution of the plasma size and velocity, indicating the dynamics are reasonably well described by a model of hydrodynamic expansion of a quasi-neutral plasma. However, for low plasma density and high initial electron temperature, excess ion kinetic energy in the vicinity of the central density peak suggests significant local non-neutrality at early times. Observations are compared to the well-understood self-similar expansion of an UCNP with an initial Gaussian density distribution, and a similar scaling law describes the evolution of plasma size for both cases.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Collective modes of ultracold fermionic alkaline-earth gases with SU(N) symmetry

We calculate the collective modes of ultracold trapped alkaline-earth fermionic atoms, which possess an SU($N$) symmetry of the nuclear spin degree of freedom, and a controllable $N$, with $N$ as large as $10$. We calculate the breathing and quadrupole modes of two-dimensional and three-dimensional harmonically trapped gases in the normal phase. We particularly concentrate on two-dimensional gases, where the shift is more accessible experimentally, and the physics has special features. We present results as a function of temperature, interaction strength, density, and $N$. We include calculations across the collisionless to hydrodynamic crossover. We assume the gas is interacting weakly, such that it can be described by a Boltzmann-Vlasov equation that includes both mean-field terms and the collision integral. We solve this with an approximate scaling ansatz, taking care in two-dimensions to preserve the scaling symmetry of the system. We predict the collective mode frequency shifts and damping, showing that these are measurable in experimentally relevant regimes. We expect these results to furnish powerful tools to characterize interactions and the state of alkaline-earth gases, as well as to lay the foundation for future work, for example on strongly interacting gases and SU($N$) spin modes.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Accessing Rydberg-dressed interactions using many-body Ramsey dynamics

We demonstrate that Ramsey spectroscopy can be used to observe Rydberg-dressed interactions. In contrast to many prior proposals, our scheme operates comfortably within experimentally measured lifetimes, and accesses a regime where quantum superpositions are crucial. The key idea is to build a spin-1/2 from one level that is Rydberg-dressed and another that is not. These levels may be hyperfine or long-lived electronic states. An Ising spin model governs the Ramsey dynamics, for which we derive an exact solution. Due to the structure of Rydberg interactions, the dynamics differs significantly from that in other spin systems. As one example, spin echo can increase the rate at which coherence decays. The results also apply to bare (undressed) Rydberg states as a special case, for which we quantitatively reproduce recent ultrafast experiments without fitting.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Degenerate quantum gases of strontium

Degenerate quantum gases of alkaline-earth-like elements open new opportunities in research areas ranging from molecular physics to the study of strongly correlated systems. These experiments exploit the rich electronic structure of these elements, which is markedly different from the one of other species for which quantum degeneracy has been attained. Specifically, alkaline-earth-like atoms, such as strontium, feature metastable triplet states, narrow intercombination lines, and a non-magnetic, closed-shell ground state. This review covers the creation of quantum degenerate gases of strontium and the first experiments performed with this new system. It focuses on laser-cooling and evaporation schemes, which enable the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases of all strontium isotopes, and shows how they are used for the investigation of optical Feshbach resonances, the study of degenerate gases loaded into an optical lattice, as well as the coherent creation of Sr_2 molecules.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Production of very-high-$n$ strontium Rydberg atoms

The production of very-high-$n$, $n\sim300$-500, strontium Rydberg atoms is explored using a crossed laser-atom beam geometry. $n$$^{1}$S$_{0}$ and $n$$^{1}$D$_{2}$ states are created by two-photon excitation via the 5s5p $^{1}$P$_{1}$ intermediate state using radiation with wavelengths of $\sim$~461 and $\sim$ 413 nm. Rydberg atom densities as high as $\sim 3 \times 10^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$ have been achieved, sufficient that Rydberg-Rydberg interactions can become important. The isotope shifts in the Rydberg series limits are determined by tuning the 461 nm light to preferentially excite the different strontium isotopes. Photoexcitation in the presence of an applied electric field is examined. The initially quadratic Stark shift of the $n$$^{1}$P$_{1}$ and $n$$^{1}$D$_{2}$ states becomes near-linear at higher fields and the possible use of $n{}^{1}$D$_{2}$ states to create strongly-polarized, quasi-one-dimensional electronic states in strontium is discussed. The data are analyzed with the aid of a two-active-electron (TAE) approximation. The two-electron Hamiltonian, within which the Sr$^{2+}$ core is represented by a semi-empirical potential, is numerically diagonalized allowing calculation of the energies of high-$n$ Rydberg states and their photoexcitation probabilities.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2005

Pumped quantum systems: immersion fluids of the future?

Quantum optical techniques may yield immersion fluids with high indices of refraction without absorption. We describe one such technique in which a probe field experiences a large index of refraction with amplification rather than absorption, and examine its practicality for an immersion lithography application. Enhanced index can be observed in a three-level system with a tunable, near-resonant, coherent probe and incoherent pump field that inverts population of the probe transition. This observation contradicts the common belief that large indices of refraction are impossible without absorption, however it is well in accord with existing electromagnetic theory and practice. Calculations show that a refractive index >> 2 is possible with practical experimental parameters. A scheme with an incoherent mixture of pumped and unpumped atoms is also examined, and is seen to have a lower refractive index (~2) accompanied by neither gain nor loss.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2005

Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

Ultracold neutral plasmas are formed by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms near the ionization threshold. Through the application of atomic physics techniques and diagnostics, these experiments stretch the boundaries of traditional neutral plasma physics. The electron temperature in these plasmas ranges from 1-1000 K and the ion temperature is around 1 K. The density can approach $10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$. Fundamental interest stems from the possibility of creating strongly-coupled plasmas, but recombination, collective modes, and thermalization in these systems have also been studied. Optical absorption images of a strontium plasma, using the Sr$^+$ ${^2S\_{1/2}} -> {^2P\_{1/2}}$ transition at 422 nm, depict the density profile of the plasma, and probe kinetics on a 50 ns time-scale. The Doppler-broadened ion absorption spectrum measures the ion velocity distribution, which gives an accurate measure of the ion dynamics in the first microsecond after photoionization.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2000

1S-2S Spectrum of a Hydrogen Bose-Einstein Condensate

We calculate the two-photon 1S-2S spectrum of an atomic hydrogen Bose-Einstein condensate in the regime where the cold collision frequency shift dominates the lineshape. WKB and static phase approximations are made to find the intensities for transitions from the condensate to motional eigenstates for 2S atoms. The excited state wave functions are found using a mean field potential which includes the effects of collisions with condensate atoms. Results agree well with experimental data. This formalism can be used to find condensate spectra for a wide range of excitation schemes.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1999

Cold Collision Frequency Shift of an Optical Spectrum of a Trapped Gas

We develop an exact sum rule that relates the spectral shift of a trapped gas undergoing cold collisions to measurable quantities of the system. The method demonstrates the dependence of the cold collision frequency shift on the quantum degeneracy of the gas and facilitates extracting scattering lengths from the data. We apply the method to analyzing spectral data for magnetically trapped hydrogen atoms and determine the value of the $1S-2S$ scattering length.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1998

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Atomic Hydrogen

We have observed Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of trapped atomic hydrogen, and studied it by two-photon spectroscopy of the 1S-2S transition. In these lecture notes we briefly review the history of spin-polarized atomic hydrogen and describe the final steps to BEC. Laser spectroscopy, which probes the difference in mean field energy of the 1S and 2S states, is used to study the condensate, which has a peak density of 4.8e15 cm^-3 and population of 10^9.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1998

Cold Collision Frequency Shift of the 1S-2S Transition in Hydrogen

We have observed the cold collision frequency shift of the 1S-2S transition in trapped spin-polarized atomic hydrogen. We find $Δν_{1S-2S} = -3.8(8)\times 10^{-10} n Hz cm^3$, where $n$ is the sample density. From this we derive the 1S-2S s-wave triplet scattering length, $a_{1S-2S}=-1.4(3)$ nm, which is in fair agreement with a recent calculation. The shift provides a valuable probe of the distribution of densities in a trapped sample.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1998

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Atomic Hydrogen

We report observation of Bose-Einstein condensation of a trapped, dilute gas of atomic hydrogen. The condensate and normal gas are studied by two-photon spectroscopy of the 1S-2S transition. Interactions among the atoms produce a shift of the resonance frequency proportional to density. The condensate is clearly distinguished by its large frequency shift. The peak condensate density is 4.8 +/- 1.1 \times 10^{15} cm^{-3}, corresponding to a condensate population of 10^9 atoms. The BEC transition occurs at about T=50 uK and n=1.8 \times 10^{14} cm^{-3}.

physics.atom-ph↗