Direct observation of ultrafast many-body electron dynamics in an ultracold Rydberg gas

Nobuyuki Takei, Christian Sommer, Claudiu Genes, Guido Pupillo, Haruka Goto, Kuniaki Koyasu, Hisashi Chiba, Matthias Weidemüller and Kenji Ohmori ()
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Nobuyuki Takei: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Christian Sommer: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Claudiu Genes: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck
Guido Pupillo: IPCMS (UMR 7504) and ISIS (UMR 7006), University of Strasbourg and CNRS
Haruka Goto: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Kuniaki Koyasu: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Hisashi Chiba: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Matthias Weidemüller: Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg
Kenji Ohmori: Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Many-body correlations govern a variety of important quantum phenomena such as the emergence of superconductivity and magnetism. Understanding quantum many-body systems is thus one of the central goals of modern sciences. Here we demonstrate an experimental approach towards this goal by utilizing an ultracold Rydberg gas generated with a broadband picosecond laser pulse. We follow the ultrafast evolution of its electronic coherence by time-domain Ramsey interferometry with attosecond precision. The observed electronic coherence shows an ultrafast oscillation with a period of 1 femtosecond, whose phase shift on the attosecond timescale is consistent with many-body correlations among Rydberg atoms beyond mean-field approximations. This coherent and ultrafast many-body dynamics is actively controlled by tuning the orbital size and population of the Rydberg state, as well as the mean atomic distance. Our approach will offer a versatile platform to observe and manipulate non-equilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems on the ultrafast timescale.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13449

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