Properties of laser-targeted Rydberg Matter with changes in pressure and magnetic field

Abstract

Rydberg Matter (RM) is a condensate of Rydberg atoms, forming planar hexagonal clusters on a surface. It can exhibit several interesting properties when targeted by a laser pulse, such as expelling particles that can be measured using Time-of-Flight (TOF). Four peaks, shown by voltage spikes caused by a distinct increase in the number of measured particles, were identified in the current experiments. Three of them were in the ns range and one was in the µs range, over 100 cm from emitter to detector. The third ns peak showed a logarithmic correlation between TOF and pressure, reducing TOF from 31-34 ns to 21-24 ns with an increase in pressure from 1 × 10−4 mbar to 5 × 10−2 mbar. This is suggested to arise from a reaction in RM that have reduced reaction time with higher pressure, resulting in photon emission. Additionally, a linear correlation between time and magnitude was found for the µs peak, and the magnitude of this peak could be increased 30 times by setting up a magnetic field compared to having no magnetic field. Still, the concept of RM is not fully developed or understood, and while these findings give more knowledge to the area, they also produce more questions.