Electric Field Excitation Suppression in Cold Atoms

Abstract

In this article, the atom excitation suppression is studied in two mechanisms. The first mechanism for excitation suppression is caused by an external DC electric field. The second mechanism is due to the energy shift caused by an electric field generated by free charges, which are created by ionizing atoms. The latter mechanism is known as the Coulomb blockade. Here, the Coulomb forces originate from ions created by ionizing atoms with a UV laser. The interaction, which causes the suppression, is treated theoretically as dipole–charge interactions. In the model, the charge is an ion, and the dipole is an atom. From measurements, we use 85Rb atoms. The valence electron and the ion core are the two poles of an electric dipole. The interaction potential energy between the ion and the atom is proportional to 1R2, and the frequency shift caused by this interaction is proportional to 1R4, where R is the distance between the ion and the dipole considered. This research is motivated by potential applications for quantum information storage, remote control, creating hot plasmas using cold atoms, as well as electronic devices.