Reducing the sensitivity of Rydberg atoms to dc electric fields using two-frequency ac field dressing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a microwave dressing technique using two-frequency ac fields to significantly reduce the sensitivity of Rydberg atoms to stray dc electric fields, enhancing stability in experiments near charged surfaces.

Contribution

The study demonstrates a novel two-frequency ac field method to suppress Rydberg atoms' electric field sensitivity, including canceling higher-order polarizability effects.

Findings

Sensitivity reduced by a factor of 95 for 90S state

Sensitivity reduced by a factor of 1600 for 90P state

Method applicable to improve Rydberg atom stability near charged surfaces

Abstract

We propose a method for reducing the sensitivity of atomic ground to Rydberg transitions to stray dc electric fields, using microwave-induced dressing of Rydberg states. Calculations are presented for the Cs $\state{90S}{1/2}$ and $\state{90P}{3/2}$ states. With zero dc bias electric field, a two-frequency ac field is used to simultaneously reduce the sensitivity of both states to dc field variations. The sensitivity reduction is a factor of 95 for the $\state{90S}{1/2}$ state and a factor of 1600 for the $\state{90P}{3/2}, m_J=3/2$ state. We also show how the two-frequency ac field can be used to cancel both second- and fourth-order terms in the polarizability of a single Rydberg state. These results are relevant to improving the stability of experiments that seek to excite Rydberg atoms in the proximity of charged surfaces.