Synthetic Gauge Phase in Rydberg Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to induce and control a synthetic gauge phase in Rydberg EIT using polarization angles, enabling manipulation of many-body interactions in atomic vapors without cooling.

Contribution

It introduces a polarization-based approach to realize synthetic gauge fields in Rydberg EIT, facilitating control over atomic interactions without complex cooling setups.

Findings

Gauge phase controlled by polarization angle affects EIT transmission

Modulation of Rydberg population and linewidth observed

Method enables manipulation of many-body interactions in vapor cells

Abstract

We demonstrate a synthetic gauge phase in Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using room-temperature rubidium vapor. By exploiting polarization selection rules in a ladder-type system involving ground, intermediate, and Rydberg states, multiple Zeeman sublevels form closed-loop transitions that acquire a gauge phase. We show that the relative polarization angle between the linearly polarized probe and coupling lasers directly controls this gauge phase, which modulates the EIT transmission and Rydberg state population, consequently controlling the linewidth of EIT due to Rydberg dipole-dipole interactions between atoms. Our approach provides a simple polarization-based method for realizing synthetic gauge physics and manipulating many-body interactions in atomic ensembles without requiring laser cooling and dipole traps.