Team

Atomic Spectroscopy at Interfaces (ASI)

Scientific activity

The Atomic Spectroscopy at Interfaces (ASI) team has developed techniques for probing atomic and molecular gases close to dielectric surfaces. Using these tools, the team carries out fundamental experiments linked to cavity quantum electrodynamics, and in particular to the Casimir-Polder effect (modification of the energy levels and spontaneous emission rate of atoms in a field close to a dielectric surface). One of our current projects aims to probe Rydberg atoms confined in nanometric cells to study their interactions with the walls, as well as with their neighbors (interatomic interactions). Thin cells are simple platforms for exploiting the sensitivity of Rydberg atoms to external fields to fabricate quantum sensors. The SAI team also studies confined molecular gases with sub-wavelength dimensions. The aim of these experiments is to probe Casimir-Polder interactions with quantum objects of complex geometry (in order to study fine effects such as the anisotropy of the molecule-surface interaction), as well as to fabricate compact single-frequency references using the coherent Dicke effect.

© Athanasios Laliotis, 2023, LPL.

Figure: A resonant green laser beam (λ=512nm) probes Rydberg atoms confined in a thin cell of nanometric thickness varying between 40-1000nm.