Abstract：
In this talk, I will first give a brief review of current research activities in Rydberg physics as well as electromagnetically induced transparency involving Rydberg states (Rydberg EIT). I will then present our experimental study of interacting Rydberg gases. In particular, I will discuss two of our recent experiments related to Rydberg EIT. In one experiment, we demonstrate coherent conversion from microwave to optical field via sixwave mixing in Rydberg atoms, utilizing the strong coupling of microwaves to Rydberg transitions. I will discuss our current results as well as possible schemes to further improve the conversion efficiency and bandwidth. In another experiment, we image ions in an atomic gas using Rydberg EIT, based on ion induced Rydberg blockade. This imaging technique has allowed us to observe spatial evolution of ionization in cold Rydberg gases. More importantly, it will be useful for the investigation of ion kinetics in cold hybrid ion-atom mixtures, an emerging platform for fundamental research in quantum physics.
Biography：
After graduating from Fudan Univesity, Wenhui Li went to the University of Virginia to pursue her PhD study in the group of Tom Gallagher. Her PhD research was in the field of cold Rydberg gases, especially on studying dipoledipole interactions between Rydberg atoms using millimeter waves spectroscopy. Upon the completion of PhD degree in 2005, she joined Randy Hulet’s group at Rice University as a postdoctoral researcher, and worked on strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gases. In 2009, Wenhui became a principal investigator at the Center for Quantum Technologies, with a joint faculty appointment at the National University of Singapore. Her experimental group at CQT researches on Rydberg atoms in several areas, including nonlinear processes for microwave-optical conversion and for THz generation, nondestructive optical imaging of ions and Rydberg atoms, and coherent dipole-dipole energy transfer of Rydberg excitations.
Seminar by the NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai