Intrinsic Optical Bistability in a Strongly-Driven Rydberg Ensemble

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation and analysis of intrinsic optical bistability in a dilute Rydberg vapor, revealing how the phenomenon depends on quantum number and aligning with a semiclassical theoretical model.

Contribution

It demonstrates intrinsic optical bistability in Rydberg ensembles and explores its dependence on principal quantum number, supported by experimental data and a semiclassical model.

Findings

Bistability characterized by sharp jumps and hysteresis in Rydberg vapor.

Frequency shift of jump points scales with the fourth power of quantum number.

Hysteresis width varies with principal quantum number, peaking before closing.

Abstract

We observe and characterize intrinsic optical bistability in a dilute Rydberg vapor. The bistability is characterized by sharp jumps between states of low and high Rydberg occupancy with jump up and down positions displaying hysteresis depending on the direction in which the control parameter is changed. We find that the shift in frequency of the jump point scales with the fourth power of the principal quantum number. Also, the width of the hysteresis window increases with increasing principal quantum number, before reaching a peak and then closing again. The experimental results are consistent with predictions from a simple theoretical model based on semiclassical Maxwell-Bloch equations including the effect of broadening and frequency shifts. These results provide insight to the dynamics of driven dissipative systems.