Current Students: Bineet Dash
Alumni (graduation year): Michael Viray (2021), Nithiwadee Thaicharoen (2017), Stephanie Miller (2017), Andrew Schwarzkopf (2013)
Using ion imaging technique, we are studying spatial structures in cold quantum gases. The TIP (tip imaging probe) is a needle-shaped electrode that can produce a strong radial electric field. When combined with a micro-channel plate (MCP), it can produce spatially resolved ion images. Several research directions include:
Correlations and long-range interactions between Rydberg atoms
We observed spatial correlations, made measurements of the dipole blockade, and measured the strength of van der Waals interactions in Rydberg-atom systems.
Cold neutral and charged plasmas
The TIP is also being used to study structures in expanding cold neutral and non-neutral plasmas. So far we have observed shock fronts and nearest-neighbor ion correlations, and more plasma experiments are on their way.
Future directions
The imaging system could be used to study other spatial structures as well. For example, we could also look at:
- excitation-hopping / diffusion in Rydberg systems
- Rydberg crystals
- photoionization cross-sections and Cooper minima of Rydberg atoms
Recent Publications
- Photoionization of nS and nD Rydberg atoms of Rb and Cs from the near-infrared to the ultraviolet spectral region
Michael A. Viray, Eric Paradis, and Georg Raithel
New J. Phys, 23, 063022 (June 2021) - Magneto-Optical Trap with Millimeter Ball Lenses
Cainan S. Nichols, Leo M. Nofs, Michael A. Viray, Lu Ma, Eric Paradis, and Georg Raithel
Phys. Rev. Applied 14, 044013 (October 2020) - Coulomb expansion of a cold non-neutral rubidium plasma
Michael A. Viray, Stephanie A. Miller, and Georg Raithel
Phys. Rev. A 102, 033303 (September 2020) - Expansion behavior and pair correlations in continuously excited Rydberg systems
Nithiwadee Thaicharoen, Stephanie A. Miller, and Georg Raithel
Phys. Rev. A 98, 023402 (August 2018) - Control of spatial correlations between Rydberg excitations using rotary echo
N. Thaicharoen, A. Schwarzkopf, and G. Raithel
Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 133401 (March 2017)