Abstract
We calculate the ionization lifetime of rubidium atoms trapped in an intense light field as a function of wavelength and principal quantum number n. The ionization lifetimes of ground state atoms range from essentially infinite to less than one second, for example in a 532 nm laser field with intensity 106 W cm−2. The ionization lifetime of Rydberg states can be extremely short, e.g. the lifetime of the 35d state in a CO2 laser field with intensity 105 W cm−2 and wavelength 10.6 μm is of order 100 ns. These results have important implications for achieving long coherence times, and for entanglement schemes based on Rydberg excitation in far-detuned optical lattices. In particular, fast photo-ionization could seriously compromise the possible realization of quantum gates based on Rydberg excitation of alkali atoms in a CO2 laser lattice.
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