Nonlinear absorption and density-dependent dephasing in Rydberg electromagnetically-induced-transparency media

Authors/Editors

Research Areas

Publication Details

Output type: Journal article

Author list: Gaertner M, Evers J

Publisher: American Physical Society

Publication year: 2013

Journal: Physical Review A (1050-2947)

Volume number: 88

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 1050-2947

eISSN: 1094-1622

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

Unpaywall Data

Open access status: green

Full text URL: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1305.1458

Abstract

Light propagation through an ensemble of ultracold Rydberg atoms in an electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) configuration is studied. In strongly interacting Rydberg EIT media, nonlinear optical effects lead to a nontrivial dependence of the degree of probe-beam attenuation on the medium density and on its initial intensity. We develop a Monte Carlo rate equation model that self-consistently includes the effect of the probe-beam attenuation to investigate the steady state of the Rydberg medium driven by two laser fields. We compare our results to recent experimental data and to results of other state-of-the-art models for light propagation in Rydberg EIT media. We find that for low probe field intensities, our results match the experimental data best if a density-dependent dephasing rate is included in the model. At higher probe intensities, our model deviates from other theoretical approaches, because it predicts a spectral asymmetry together with line broadening. These are likely due to off-resonant excitation channels, which, however, have not been observed in recent experiments. Atomic motion and coupling to additional Rydberg levels are discussed as possible origins for these deviations.

Keywords

No matching items found.

Documents