1. Rydberg atoms
  2. Research
  3. Research topics
  4. Rubidium team

Rubidium team

People

Permanent staff: Clément Sayrin, Michel Brune, Jean-Michel Raimond, Serge Haroche

PhD students: Yohann Machu, Andrés, Durán Hernández, Gautier Creutzer, Aurore-Alice Young

In the picture: Victor Delapalme (L3 intern, alumni)

Summary

In our experiment, we laser-trapped Rubidium-87 atoms in an array of optical tweezers. We excite the atoms to circular Rydberg levels and, then, laser-trap them in an array of hollow optical beams. Thanks to the laser trap, and given the strong interactions between circular Rydberg atoms and their long lifetime in the cryogenic environment, the array of interacting atoms is left unaffected over many interaction cycles. This should enable, e.g., the study of the dynamics of condensed-matter systems over long times, their response to quenches or their thermalisation properties, phenomena that are beyond the reach of numerical simulations.

Publications

1.
Méhaignerie, P. et al. Interacting Circular Rydberg Atoms Trapped in Optical Tweezers. PRX Quantum 6, 010353 (2025).
1.
Ravon, B. et al. Array of Individual Circular Rydberg Atoms Trapped in Optical Tweezers. Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 093401 (2023).
1.
Méhaignerie, P., Sayrin, C., Raimond, J.-M., Brune, M. & Roux, G. Spin-motion coupling in a circular-Rydberg-state quantum simulator: Case of two atoms. Phys. Rev. A 107, 063106 (2023).
1.
Cantat-Moltrecht, T. et al. Long-lived circular Rydberg states of laser-cooled rubidium atoms in a cryostat. Phys. Rev. Research 2, 022032 (2020).
1.
Cortiñas, R. G. et al. Laser Trapping of Circular Rydberg Atoms. Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 123201 (2020).
1.
Nguyen, T. L. et al. Towards Quantum Simulation with Circular Rydberg Atoms. Phys. Rev. X 8, 011032 (2018).

Read also