Multi-Manifold Stark Splittings Lift the Rydberg Blockade

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Stark-split energy levels across multiple manifolds influence the Rydberg blockade, explaining phenomena like its unexpected restoration at small distances and the persistent pair correlation.

Contribution

It introduces a multi-manifold Stark splitting model that explains previously observed anomalies in Rydberg blockade behavior.

Findings

Restoration of Rydberg blockade at small distances due to multi-manifold effects

Persistent pair correlation within the blockade region explained by energy level perturbations

Theoretical framework aligns with experimental observations by P. Schauss et al.

Abstract

The spatial evolution of the Rydberg blockade is studied taking into account Stark-split energy levels across several manifolds. We find that the unexpected restoration of a blockaded Rydberg excitation at small interatomic distances, e.g., experimentally observed by P.Schauss, et al. [Nature 491, 87 (2012)], can be explained by the perturbed energy levels from neighboring manifolds that enter the energy window of excitation defined by the bandwidth of the exciting laser. The same mechanism can also explain why the pair correlation function of Rydberg atoms remains nonzero in the entire region of Rydberg blockade.