Michael W. Noel

Shaping an atomic electron wave packet

We consider coherent control of the shape of an atomic electrons wavefunction using a train of short transform-limited laser pulses. This type of control is experimentally demonstrated by exciting with a train of three pulses and measuring the resulting quantum state distribution. We also present a general theory for control with a train of N pulses in the weak field limit and discuss the extension of this theory to the strong field limit.

Excitation of Rydberg states in rubidium with near infrared diode lasers.

A system of three external cavity diode lasers is used to excite Rydberg states in rubidium. The 5S→5P→5D transitions are driven using lasers with λ = 780 and 776 nm respectively. From the 5D state, atoms fluoresce down to the 6P state. The final transition to Rydberg levels is from the 6P state with laser light near λ = 1016 nm. The nS and nD Rydberg states are accessible directly and with the application of a modest electric field nP states can also be excited. As a test of this system, Stark spectra are collected for nD and nP states.

Optics Inside an Atom

This article provides a brief overview of atom interferometry, noting whats been learned about the behavior of atoms using the technique and describing applications in fields such as chemistry and computing.

Simulations of the angular dependence of the dipole-dipole interaction among Rydberg atoms

The dipole-dipole interaction between two Rydberg atoms depends on the relative orientation of the atoms and on the change in the magnetic quantum number. We simulate the effect of this anisotropy on the energy transport in an amorphous many atom system subject to a homogeneous applied electric field. We consider two experimentally feasible geometries and find that the effects should be measurable in current generation imaging experiments. In both geometries atoms of

Coherence and Decoherence in Rydberg Gases

p

Two-mode multiphoton transitions

character are localized to a small region of space which is immersed in a larger region that is filled with atoms of

Quantum Control via a Genetic Algorithm of the Field Ionization Pathway of a Rydberg Electron

s

Time Dependence of the Many-Body Interactions in a One-Dimensional Sample of Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

character. Energy transfer due to the dipole-dipole interaction can lead to a spread of

Many-Body Interactions in a Restricted Dimensionality Sample of Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

p

Evolution of Cold Rydberg Atoms into an Ultracold Plasma

character into the region initially occupied by