Rydberg blockade induced by a single ion
ORAL
Abstract
Ultracold Rydberg atoms with their strong mutual interactions provide an interesting platform for e.g. quantum simulation or quantum information exploiting the so-called Rydberg blockade. A similar concept applies to hybrid systems of Rydberg atoms and ions leading to single charge-induced blockade phenomena over macroscopic distances. We demonstrate the excitation blockade of a single Rydberg atom by a single low-energy ion. The ion is produced from a single Rydberg excitation in an ultracold sample exploiting a novel optical two-photon ionization scheme, especially suited for the creation of very low-energy ions. We precisely control the ion's motion by applying small electric fields to analyze the blockade mechanism for a range of principal quantum numbers. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the ion as a high-sensitivity single-atom based electric field sensor. We use this method to determine the mobility of a cold ionic charge in a BEC. Our method may in the future also be used for controlling cold collisions, chemistry or charge mobilities in ion-atom mixtures. [1] Engel, F., Dieterle, T., Schmid, T., Tomschitz, C., Veit, C., Zuber, N., Low, R., Pfau, T., Meinert, F.: Observation of Rydberg Blockade Induced by a Single Ion. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 193401 (2018).
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