Electric Field Tuned Dipolar Interaction Between Rydberg Atoms

Abstract

We demonstrated a tuned dipole interaction between Rydberg atoms by employing a controllable electric field in a cold cesium ensemble. The |nP3/2⟩ (n = 38–40) Rydberg pairs are prepared with a three-photon scheme and detected via the state-selective field ionization technique. A weak DC electric field is used to tune the Rydberg pair interaction from the van der Waals interaction regime to the dipole–dipole interaction regime. The Förster resonant interaction and an adiabatic resonance energy transfer between the nP and nS Rydberg states are attained by precisely tuning the electric field. Rydberg excitation blockade with and without the electric field is investigated by changing the excitation pulse duration, which demonstrates that the dipole interaction–induced blockade effect is stronger than the van der Waals interaction–induced blockade effect. The precise control of the Rydberg interaction is of great significance to the coherent interaction in many-body systems and non-radiative collision processes.