Manipulating Rydberg atoms close to surfaces at cryogenic temperatures

Helium atoms in Rydberg states have been manipulated coherently with microwave radiation pulses near a gold surface and near a superconducting NbTiN surface at a temperature of $3 text{K}$. The experiments were carried out with a skimmed supersonic beam of metastable $(1text{s})^1(2text{s})^1, {}^1text{S}_0$ helium atoms excited with laser radiation to $ntext{p}$ Rydberg levels with principal quantum number $n$ between $30$ and $40$. The separation between the cold surface and the center of the collimated beam is adjustable down to $250 mutext{m}$. Short-lived $ntext{p}$ Rydberg levels were coherently transferred to the long-lived $ntext{s}$ state to avoid radiative decay of the Rydberg atoms between the photoexcitation region and the region above the cold surfaces. Further coherent manipulation of the $ntext{s}$ Rydberg levels with pulsed microwave radiation above the surfaces enabled measurements of stray electric fields and allowed us to study the decoherence of the atomic ensemble. Adsorption of residual gas onto the surfaces and the resulting slow build-up of stray fields was minimized by controlling the temperature of the surface and monitoring the partial pressures of H$_2$O, N$_2$, O$_2$ and CO$_2$ in the experimental chamber during the cool-down. Compensation of the stray electric fields to levels below $100 text{mV}/text{cm}$ was achieved over a region of $6 text{mm}$ along the beam-propagation direction which, for the $1770 text{m}/text{s}$ beam velocity, implies the possibility to preserve the coherence of the atomic sample for several microseconds above the cold surfaces.