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arXiv · 1709.01838

Theory of excitation of Rydberg polarons in an atomic quantum gas

R. Schmidt·J. D. Whalen·R. Ding·F. Camargo·G. Woehl Jr.·S. Yoshida·J. Burgdorfer·F. B. Dunning·E. Demler·H. R. Sadeghepour·T. C. Killian
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Abstract

We present a quantum many-body description of the excitation spectrum of Rydberg polarons in a Bose gas. The many-body Hamiltonian is solved with functional determinant theory, and we extend this technique to describe Rydberg polarons of finite mass. Mean-field and classical descriptions of the spectrum are derived as approximations of the many-body theory. The various approaches are applied to experimental observations of polarons created by excitation of Rydberg atoms in a strontium Bose-Einstein condensate.

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R. Schmidt, J. D. Whalen, R. Ding, F. Camargo, G. Woehl Jr., S. Yoshida, J. Burgdorfer, F. B. Dunning, E. Demler, H. R. Sadeghepour, T. C. Killian. 2018-01-17. Theory of excitation of Rydberg polarons in an atomic quantum gas. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.97.022707

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