Surface charges in a Rydberg atom-nanowaveguide hybrid quantum system
Abstract
Hybrid quantum platforms based on highly excited Rydberg atoms coupled to nanophotonics devices offer a promising route toward scalable quantum networks and integrated quantum technologies. However, the close proximity of Rydberg atoms to dielectric nanostructures makes these systems particularly susceptible to uncontrolled surface electric fields that can lead to a degradation of the excitation process. Here, we experimentally investigate Rydberg excitation of laser-cooled 87Rb atoms via the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber in the presence of fiber-guided red- and blue-detuned light fields as used to trap ground state atoms in fiber-based dipole traps. We observe a time evolution of the Rydberg excitation spectrum when both the dipole trapping fields are on and the additional spectral features that appear can be suppressed by applying an external oscillating electric field to the system, strongly indicating that surface charge accumulation is responsible for the observed spectral feature. The experimental results are reproduced qualitatively by a model that incorporates DC energy level shifts arising from electric fields generated by charges deposited on the nanofiber surface. We identify Rydberg-ground state collisional ionization, which is enhanced by the dipole trapping fields, as the dominant mechanism for charge generation. These results provide new insight into charge dynamics at dielectric nanophotonic interfaces and establish practical guidelines for mitigating surface charge-induced electric fields in fiber-integrated Rydberg quantum systems.
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BibTeX
@misc{raj2026surface,
title = {{Surface charges in a Rydberg atom-nanowaveguide hybrid quantum system}},
author = {Aswathy Raj and Anna Kortel and Krishna Jadeja and Dylan J. Brown and Alexey Vylegzhanin and Robert Löw and Síle Nic Chormaic},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.00513},
eprint = {2607.00513},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.00513},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Surface charges in a Rydberg atom-nanowaveguide hybrid quantum system
AU - Aswathy Raj
AU - Anna Kortel
AU - Krishna Jadeja
AU - Dylan J. Brown
AU - Alexey Vylegzhanin
AU - Robert Löw
AU - Síle Nic Chormaic
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.00513
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.00513
AB - Hybrid quantum platforms based on highly excited Rydberg atoms coupled to nanophotonics devices offer a promising route toward scalable quantum networks and integrated quantum technologies. However, the close proximity of Rydberg atoms to dielectric nanostructures makes these systems particularly susceptible to uncontrolled surface electric fields that can lead to a degradation of the excitation process. Here, we experimentally investigate Rydberg excitation of laser-cooled ^87Rb atoms via the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber in the presence of fiber-guided red- and blue-detuned light fields as used to trap ground state atoms in fiber-based dipole traps. We observe a time evolution of the Rydberg excitation spectrum when both the dipole trapping fields are on and the additional spectral features that appear can be suppressed by applying an external oscillating electric field to the system, strongly indicating that surface charge accumulation is responsible for the observed spectral feature. The experimental results are reproduced qualitatively by a model that incorporates DC energy level shifts arising from electric fields generated by charges deposited on the nanofiber surface. We identify Rydberg-ground state collisional ionization, which is enhanced by the dipole trapping fields, as the dominant mechanism for charge generation. These results provide new insight into charge dynamics at dielectric nanophotonic interfaces and establish practical guidelines for mitigating surface charge-induced electric fields in fiber-integrated Rydberg quantum systems.
ER -