Creating Strontium Rydberg Atoms
| dc.contributor.advisor | Dunning, F. B. | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Killian, Thomas C. | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Natelson, Douglas | |
| dc.creator | Zhang, Xinyue | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-17T20:41:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-10-17T20:41:36Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2013-12 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013-05-28 | |
| dc.date.submitted | December 2013 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2014-10-17T20:41:37Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Dipole-dipole interactions, the strongest, longest-range interactions possible between two neutral atoms, cannot be better manifested anywhere else than in a Rydberg atomic system. Rydberg atoms, having high principal quantum numbers n>>1 and dipole moments that scale as n^2, provide a powerful tool to examine dipole-dipole interactions. Therefore, we have studied the production and production rates of strontium Rydberg atoms created using two-photon excitation and have explored their properties in two distinct experiments. In the first experiment, very-high-n (n~300) Rydberg atoms are produced in a tightly collimated atomic beam allowing spectroscopic studies of their energy levels and their Stark effects. Simulations using a two-active-electron model, developed by our theoretical collaborators, allow detailed analysis of the results and are in remarkable agreement with the experimental results. The high density of Rydberg atoms achieved ~ 5*10^5 cm^(-3), in this experiment will allow studies of strongly interacting Rydberg-Rydberg systems. The second experiment, in which a cold strontium Rydberg gas is excited in a magneto-optic trap, features an imaging technique offering both spatial and temporal resolution. We use this technique to observe and study the evolution of an ultra-cold strontium Rydberg gas which reveals the importance of Rydberg-Rydberg interactions in the early stages of this evolution. Strongly interacting Rydberg gas provides an opportunity to realize a very strongly-correlated ultra-cold plasma. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Zhang, Xinyue. "Creating Strontium Rydberg Atoms." (2013) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/77604">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/77604</a>. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1911/77604 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder. | |
| dc.subject | Dipole-dipole interaction | |
| dc.subject | Rydberg atoms | |
| dc.subject | Strontium | |
| dc.subject | Ultracold neutral plasmas | |
| dc.subject | Spectroscopy | |
| dc.subject | Two-photon excitation | |
| dc.subject | Penning ionization | |
| dc.subject | Atomic physics | |
| dc.title | Creating Strontium Rydberg Atoms | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | Text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Physics and Astronomy | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Natural Sciences | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Rice University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science |