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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Rydberg-Dressed Magneto-optical Trap
A D Bounds1, N C Jackson1, R K Hanley1
1Joint Quantum Centre Durham-Newcastle, Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We propose and demonstrate the laser cooling and trapping of Rydberg-dressed Sr atoms. By off-resonantly coupling the excited state of a narrow (7 kHz) cooling transition to a high-lying Rydberg state, we transfer Rydberg properties such as enhanced electric polarizability to a stable magneto-optical trap operating at <1 μK. Simulations show that it is possible to reach a regime where the long-range interaction between Rydberg-dressed atoms becomes comparable to the kinetic energy, opening a route to combining laser cooling with tunable long-range interactions.
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