Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies

A special issue of Atoms (ISSN 2218-2004).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 20924

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: ultra-cold atoms; collective atomic processes; Rydberg atoms; Bose-Einstein condensation of atoms and photons; quantum plasmas; quantum turbulence; twisted light; time crystals; superfluid light

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Guest Editor
Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: cold atoms; BEC; polaritons; quantum plasmas; quantum optics; open quantum systems
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, quantum technologies based on the physics of cold atoms have undergone important advances, which are now finding their first important outcomes. Thanks to the large quantum coherence and to the spectacular degree of experimental control of the state-of-the-art platforms, cold atoms are reaching the stage of steering applications that go well beyond the study of the fundamental aspects of atomic and many-body physics. Quantum sensors and interferometers, for example, may surpass the performance of their classical counterparts in terms of precision achieved in current laboratorial conditions. Rydberg atoms, owing to the quantum blockade effect, are compelling candidates for a next generation of quantum computers.

Cold and Rydberg atoms are also becoming very appealing platforms for quantum simulation. Experimental realization of different condensed matter or high-energy models, as well as the replication of a plethora of astrophysical scenarios, are possible due to the development of cold atom-based emulators.

The authors are encouraged to submit their original contributions in the advances of quantum technologies based on cold and ultracold atom platforms (BECs and cold atom traps), and Rydberg atoms and ultracold neutral plasmas. Topics of primary interest covered by this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) classical and quantum simulations in cold atoms and BECs, turbulence and instabilities in magneto-optical traps (MOT), quantum computing with Rydberg atoms, dynamics of Rydberg plasmas, quantum turbulence, quantum atomic impurities, and the Casimir–Polder effect in BECs. The submitted manuscripts should clearly state which problem the work plans to address. Moreover, in case of doubt about the suitability of the work, the authors are encouraged to contact the guest editors prior to submission for informal queries.

Prof. Dr. J. Tito Mendonca
Dr. Hugo Terças
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ultracold atoms
  • magneto-optical traps
  • Rydberg atoms
  • neutral ultracold plasmas
  • Bose– Einstein condensates
  • quantum computing
  • quantum turbulence

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 7522 KiB  
Article
Signatures of Quantum Chaos of Rydberg-Dressed Bosons in a Triple-Well Potential
by Tianyi Yan, Matthew Collins, Rejish Nath and Weibin Li
Atoms 2023, 11(6), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms11060089 - 31 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1712
Abstract
We studied signatures of quantum chaos in dynamics of Rydberg-dressed bosonic atoms held in a one-dimensional triple-well potential. Long-range nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions, induced by laser dressing atoms to strongly interacting Rydberg states, drastically affect mean-field and quantum many-body dynamics. By analyzing the [...] Read more.
We studied signatures of quantum chaos in dynamics of Rydberg-dressed bosonic atoms held in a one-dimensional triple-well potential. Long-range nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions, induced by laser dressing atoms to strongly interacting Rydberg states, drastically affect mean-field and quantum many-body dynamics. By analyzing the mean-field dynamics, classical chaos regions with positive and large Lyapunov exponents were identified as a function of the potential well tilting and dressed interactions. In the quantum regime, it was found that level statistics of the eigen-energies gain a Wigner–Dyson distribution when the Lyapunov exponents are large, giving rise to signatures of strong quantum chaos. We found that both the time-averaged entanglement entropy and survival probability of the initial state have distinctively large values in the quantum chaos regime. We further showed that population variances could be used as an indicator of the emergence of quantum chaos. This might provide a way to directly probe quantum chaotic dynamics through analyzing population dynamics in individual potential wells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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8 pages, 607 KiB  
Communication
Rydberg Interaction-Induced Distortion of the Autler–Townes Spectra in Cold Lithium Atoms
by Sergey Saakyan, Nikita Morozov, Vladimir Sautenkov and Boris B. Zelener
Atoms 2023, 11(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms11040073 - 13 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1598
Abstract
In this article, effects of the strong long-range interaction of Rydberg atoms on the Autler–Townes splitting spectrum are investigated. Preliminary results are obtained for various excitation times and Rydberg atom densities. The 2S1/2 and 2P1/2 [...] Read more.
In this article, effects of the strong long-range interaction of Rydberg atoms on the Autler–Townes splitting spectrum are investigated. Preliminary results are obtained for various excitation times and Rydberg atom densities. The 2S1/2 and 2P1/2 levels of lithium-7 are coupled with strong laser field and probed by another laser via excitation into a 70S Rydberg level. Interactions between Rydberg atoms excited by the probe beam lead to the broadening of the Autler–Townes spectra. At high concentrations of Rydberg atoms, a suppression of the excitation of the Autler–Townes peak at red detuning is observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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12 pages, 8605 KiB  
Article
Nonequilibrium Steady State in a Large Magneto-Optical Trap
by Marius Gaudesius, Yong-Chang Zhang, Thomas Pohl, Guillaume Labeyrie and Robin Kaiser
Atoms 2022, 10(4), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms10040153 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2621
Abstract
Considering light-mediated long-range interactions between cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), we present numerical evidence of a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) for sufficiently large number of atoms (>108). This state manifests itself as the appearance of an anisotropic distribution [...] Read more.
Considering light-mediated long-range interactions between cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), we present numerical evidence of a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) for sufficiently large number of atoms (>108). This state manifests itself as the appearance of an anisotropic distribution of velocity when a MOT approaches the threshold beyond which self-oscillating instabilities occur. Our three-dimensional (3D) spatiotemporal model with nonlocal spatial dependencies stemming from the interatomic interactions has recently been compared successfully to predict different instability thresholds and regimes in experiments with rubidium atoms. The behavior of the NESS is studied as a function of the main MOT parameters, including its spatiotemporal characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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9 pages, 447 KiB  
Article
Polarization Spectroscopy Applied to Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in Hot Rydberg Atoms Using a Laguerre–Gaussian Beam
by Naomy Duarte Gomes, Bárbara da Fonseca Magnani, Jorge Douglas Massayuki Kondo and Luis Gustavo Marcassa
Atoms 2022, 10(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms10020058 - 1 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2757
Abstract
In this work, we have applied polarization spectroscopy to study electromagnetically induced transparency involving hot Rb85 Rydberg state in a vapor cell using a Laguerre–Gaussian mode beam. Such spectroscopy technique generates a dispersive signal, which allows a direct measurement of the transition [...] Read more.
In this work, we have applied polarization spectroscopy to study electromagnetically induced transparency involving hot Rb85 Rydberg state in a vapor cell using a Laguerre–Gaussian mode beam. Such spectroscopy technique generates a dispersive signal, which allows a direct measurement of the transition linewidth. Our results show that the measured transition linewidth for a Laguerre–Gaussian mode control beam is narrower than for a Gaussian mode. Besides, it can be well reproduced by a simplified Lindblad master equation model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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13 pages, 2112 KiB  
Article
Quasi-Static and Dynamic Photon Bubbles in Cold Atom Clouds
by João D. Rodrigues, Ruggero Giampaoli, José A. Rodrigues, António V. Ferreira, Hugo Terças and José T. Mendonça
Atoms 2022, 10(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms10020045 - 30 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2531
Abstract
Turbulent radiation flow is ubiquitous in many physical systems where light–matter interaction becomes relevant. Photon bubble instabilities, in particular, have been identified as a possible source of turbulent radiation transport in astrophysical objects such as massive stars and black hole accretion disks. Here, [...] Read more.
Turbulent radiation flow is ubiquitous in many physical systems where light–matter interaction becomes relevant. Photon bubble instabilities, in particular, have been identified as a possible source of turbulent radiation transport in astrophysical objects such as massive stars and black hole accretion disks. Here, we report on the experimental observation of a photon bubble instability in cold atomic gases, in the presence of multiple scattering of light. Two different regimes are identified, namely, the growth and formation of quasi-static structures of depleted atom density and increased photon number, akin to photon bubbles in astrophysical objects, and the destabilisation of these structures in a second regime of photon bubble turbulence. A two-fluid theory is developed to model the coupled atom–photon gas and to describe both the saturation of the instability in the regime of quasi-static bubbles and the low-frequency turbulent phase associated with the growth and collapse of photon bubbles inside the atomic sample. We also employ statistical dimensionality reduction techniques to describe the low-dimensional nature of the turbulent regime. The experimental results reported here, along with the theoretical model we have developed, may shed light on analogue photon bubble instabilities in astrophysical scenarios. Our findings are consistent with recent analyses based on spatially resolved pump–probe measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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10 pages, 323 KiB  
Article
Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal and Case–Van Kampen Modes for the Landau–Vlasov Equation
by Fernando Haas and Rodrigo Vidmar
Atoms 2022, 10(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms10010028 - 1 Mar 2022
Viewed by 2755
Abstract
The one-dimensional Landau–Vlasov equation describing ultracold dilute bosonic gases in the mean-field collisionless regime under strong transverse confinement is analyzed using traditional methods of plasma physics. Time-independent, stationary solutions are found using a similar approach as for the Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal nonlinear plasma modes. Linear [...] Read more.
The one-dimensional Landau–Vlasov equation describing ultracold dilute bosonic gases in the mean-field collisionless regime under strong transverse confinement is analyzed using traditional methods of plasma physics. Time-independent, stationary solutions are found using a similar approach as for the Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal nonlinear plasma modes. Linear stationary waves similar to the Case–Van Kampen plasma normal modes are also shown to be available. The new bosonic solutions have no decaying or growth properties, in the same sense as the analog plasma solutions. The results are applied for real ultracold bosonic gases accessible in contemporary laboratory experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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Review

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9 pages, 327 KiB  
Review
Nonlinear Dynamics in Isotropic and Anisotropic Magneto-Optical Traps
by Fernando Haas and Luiz Gustavo Ferreira Soares
Atoms 2022, 10(3), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms10030083 - 12 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1950
Abstract
We briefly review some recent advances in the field of nonlinear dynamics of atomic clouds in magneto-optical traps. A hydrodynamical model in a three-dimensional geometry is applied and analyzed using a variational approach. A Lagrangian density is proposed in the case where thermal [...] Read more.
We briefly review some recent advances in the field of nonlinear dynamics of atomic clouds in magneto-optical traps. A hydrodynamical model in a three-dimensional geometry is applied and analyzed using a variational approach. A Lagrangian density is proposed in the case where thermal and multiple scattering effects are both relevant, where the confinement damping and harmonic potential are both included. For generality, a general polytropic equation of state is assumed. After adopting a Gaussian profile for the fluid density and appropriate spatial dependencies of the scalar potential and potential fluid velocity field, a set of ordinary differential equations is derived. These equations are applied to compare cylindrical and spherical geometry approximations. The results are restricted to potential flows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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Other

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10 pages, 451 KiB  
Brief Report
Continuous Acceleration Sensing Using Optomechanical Droplets
by Gordon R. M. Robb, Josh G. Walker, Gian-Luca Oppo and Thorsten Ackemann
Atoms 2024, 12(3), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms12030015 - 6 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1746
Abstract
We show that a Bose–Einstein Condensate illuminated by a far off-resonant optical pump field and its retroreflection from a feedback mirror can produce stable, localised structures known as optomechanical droplets. We show that these droplets could be used to measure the acceleration of [...] Read more.
We show that a Bose–Einstein Condensate illuminated by a far off-resonant optical pump field and its retroreflection from a feedback mirror can produce stable, localised structures known as optomechanical droplets. We show that these droplets could be used to measure the acceleration of a BEC via continuous monitoring of the position of the droplet via the optical intensity distribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cold and Rydberg Atoms for Quantum Technologies)
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