Rachel Feynman

Mike Noel


The study of the properties and the behavior of ultra-cold, highly excited atoms (Rydberg atoms) can be applied to fields such as low-temperature atomic, molecular, and optical physics, as well as quantum computing. Rydberg atoms have exaggerated properties such as high sensitivity to electric fields and strong dipole-dipole interactions, which allow us to observe energy transfer. I will be looking into the time dependence of energy exchange between pairs of such atoms at neighboring starting energies. Rubidium atoms will be excited in a magneto-optical trap and allowed to exchange energy. The distribution of the final energy states will be measured using state selective ionization, observing any oscillations in the energy exchange as the time between excitation and ionization is varied.