Transitions driven by a missing frequency

We demonstrate an intricate combination of strong and weak interactions of a broadband half-cycle pulse with Rydberg atoms. A transition, which is resonant with a frequency that was taken out of the frequency spectrum, can be enhanced. In the experiment, the broadband ultrashort terahertz half-cycle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 93; no. 15; p. 153002
Main Authors Gürtler, Andreas, van der Zande, Wim J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 08.10.2004
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Summary:We demonstrate an intricate combination of strong and weak interactions of a broadband half-cycle pulse with Rydberg atoms. A transition, which is resonant with a frequency that was taken out of the frequency spectrum, can be enhanced. In the experiment, the broadband ultrashort terahertz half-cycle pulse propagates through water vapor, which absorbs on discrete lines in the spectrum, thus removing frequencies from the spectrum. The resulting pulse interacts with a rubidium Rydberg atom, which has a resonant transition with one of the missing frequencies. Under certain conditions, the transition probability is enhanced although the associated frequency was missing in the spectrum.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.153002