arXiv · 1907.01254
Measurements of individual and ensemble lifetimes of high-lying Rb Rydberg states
Abstract
We demonstrate a hybrid method based on field ionization and state-selective de-excitation capable of measuring the lifetimes of high-lying Rydberg states. For nS Rydberg states of Rb atoms with principal quantum number $60\leq n\leq88$, we measure both the individual target state lifetimes and those of the ensemble of Rydberg states populated via black-body radiation-induced transitions. We find good overall agreement with numerical calculations of the expected lifetimes in both cases. However, for the target state lifetimes, we find a local deviation towards shorter lifetimes for states around $n=72$, which we interpret as a signature of a modified black-body spectrum in the finite volume in which our experiments take place.
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M. Archimi, C. Simonelli, L. Di Virgilio, A. Greco, M. Ceccanti, E. Arimondo, D. Ciampini, I. I. Ryabtsev, I. I. Beterov, O. Morsch. 2019-07-02. Measurements of individual and ensemble lifetimes of high-lying Rb Rydberg states. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.100.030501
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