Measurements of blackbody radiation-induced transition rates between high-lying S, P and D Rydberg levels

TL;DR

This study experimentally measures blackbody radiation-induced transition rates between high-lying Rydberg states in rubidium atoms, revealing deviations from theory likely due to the cell environment, and suggests external cavities can control these transitions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental data on blackbody-induced transition rates in high-lying Rydberg states and demonstrates a method to control these transitions using external microwave cavities.

Findings

Measured transition rates show significant deviations from theoretical predictions.

Introducing external microwave cavities can potentially suppress blackbody radiation effects.

Results suggest environmental factors inside the cell influence Rydberg state transitions.

Abstract

We report experimental measurements of the rates of blackbody radiation-induced transitions between high-lying (n>60) S, P and D Rydberg levels of rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap using a hybrid field ionization and state-selective depumping technique. Our results reveal significant deviations of the measured transition rates from theory for well-defined ranges of the principal quantum number. We assume that the most likely cause for those deviations is a modified blackbody spectrum inside the glass cell in which the magneto-optical trap is formed, and we test this assumption by installing electrodes to create an additional microwave cavity around the cell. From the results we conclude that it should be possible to use such external cavities to control and suppress the blackbody radiation-induced transitions.