Long-range interactions between cold Rydberg atoms, which are used in many important applications, can be enhanced using Forster resonances between collective many-body states controlled by an external electric field. Here we report on the first expe
rimental observation of highly-resolved radio-frequency-assisted Forster resonances in a few cold Rb Rydberg atoms. We also observed radio-frequency-induced Forster resonances which cannot be tuned by a dc electric field. They imply an efficient transition from van der Waals to resonant dipole-dipole interaction due to Floquet sidebands of Rydberg levels appearing in the rf-field. This method can be applied to enhance the interactions of almost arbitrary Rydberg atoms with large principal quantum numbers.
Experiments on the spectroscopy of the Forster resonance Rb(37P)+Rb(37P) -> Rb(37S)+Rb(38S) and microwave transitions nP -> nS, nD between Rydberg states of cold Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap have been performed. Under ordinary conditions, all s
pectra exhibited a 2-3 MHz line width independently of the interaction time of atoms with each other or with microwave radiation, although the ultimate resonance width should be defined by the inverse interaction time. Analysis of the experimental conditions has shown that the main source of the line broadening was the inhomogeneous electric field of cold photoions appeared at the excitation of initial Rydberg nP states by broadband pulsed laser radiation. Using an additional pulse of the electric field, which rapidly removed the photoions after the laser pulse, lead to a substantial narrowing of the microwave and Forster resonances. An analysis of various sources of the line broadening in cold Rydberg atoms has been conducted.
Three-photon laser excitation of Rydberg states by three different laser beams can be arranged in a star-like geometry that simultaneously eliminates the recoil effect and Doppler broadening. Our analytical and numerical calculations for a particular
laser excitation scheme 5S_{1/2}->5P_{3/2}->6S_{1/2}->nP in Rb atoms have shown that compared to the one- and two-photon laser excitation this approach provides much narrower line width and longer coherence time for both cold atom samples and hot vapors, if the intermediate one-photon resonances of the three-photon transition are detuned by more than respective single-photon Doppler widths. This method can be used to improve fidelity of Rydberg quantum gates and precision of spectroscopic measurements in Rydberg atoms.
