Microwave control of Rydberg atom interactions

TL;DR

This paper explores how microwave fields can precisely control interactions between Rydberg atoms, enabling tunable dipolar and van der Waals forces, including the ability to switch interactions off and engineer three-body effects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel microwave dressing scheme for Rydberg atoms that allows for tunable and switchable interactions, supported by both numerical and perturbative analyses.

Findings

Microwave dressing can effectively control Rydberg atom interactions.

The scheme enables turning interactions on and off.

Potential to engineer three-body interactions.

Abstract

We investigate the interaction between Rydberg atoms, whose electronic states are dressed by multiple microwave fields. Numerical calculations are used for an exact description of the microwave induced interactions, and employed to benchmark a perturbative treatment that yields simple insights into the involved mechanisms. Based on this theory, we demonstrate that microwave dressing provides a powerful approach to control dipolar as well as van der Waals interactions and even permits to turn them off entirely. In addition, the proposed scheme also opens up possibilities for engineering dominant three-body interactions.