title: Transporting Rydberg electron wave packets with chirped trains of pulses.
abstract: A protocol for steering Rydberg electrons towards targeted final states is realized with the aid of a chirped train of half-cycle pulses (HCPs). Its novel capabilities are demonstrated experimentally by transporting potassium atoms excited to the lowest-lying quasi-one-dimensional states in the n(i)=350 Stark manifold to a narrow range of much higher-n states. We demonstrate that this coherent state transfer is, to a high degree, reversible. The protocol allows for remarkable selectivity and is highly efficient, with typically over 80% of the parent atoms surviving the HCP sequence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005-1892, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mestayer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Dunning
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Reinhold
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burgdörfer