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Poster Session

Poster Session II

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Wednesday June 18 Session H00 Oregon Convention Center, Exhibit Hall E
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Thermalization of a system of nearly harmonic ladders

Poster 142
Presenter: Thomas J Carroll (Ursinus College)
Authors: Sarah Spielman (Bryn Mawr College), Michael Noel (Bryn Mawr College), Aidan Kirk (Ursinus College), Philip Conte (Ursinus College), Nick Chlanda (Ursinus College), Juniper Bauroth-Sherman (Ursinus College), Karleigh Bath (Bryn Mawr College), Annick van Blerkom (Bryn Mawr College), Maja Teofilovska (Bryn Mawr College), Sage Thomas (Bryn Mawr College), John Keim (Ursinus College), Isabel Martinez-Robles (Ursinus College)

The study of the dynamics of ultracold Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap offers insight into the thermalization of closed, isolated quantum systems. We excite the atoms to the middle of the n∽34 manifold in a small electric field. These Stark levels form a nearly harmonic ladder so that energy spreads out from the center of the manifold via dipole-dipole interactions among the atoms. We use the notion of dynamical typicality to numerically predict the thermalized state and compare this to the observed equilibrium energy distribution at various Rydberg atom densities. Our results reveal that, especially at low densities, our system fails to thermalize.

Funding acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grant numbers 2011583 and 2011610, and NSF GRFP grant number 2334429.

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