Enhanced metrology based on flipping trajectory of cold Rydberg gases

Abstract

The dynamical trajectory of a dissipative Rydberg many-body system could be flipped under a microwave field driving, displaying an enhanced sensitivity. This is because the intersection of the folded hysteresis trajectories exhibits a sharp peak near the phase transition, amplifying the response to small changes in the microwave field. Here, we demonstrate an experiment of enhanced metrology through flipping the hysteresis trajectory in a cold atomic system, displaying an approach to improve sensitivity near the gap-closing points. By measuring the intersection points of hysteresis trajectories versus Rabi frequency of the microwave field, we quantify the equivalent sensitivity to be 1.6(5) nV cm-1 Hz-1/2. The measurement is also dependent on the interaction time, optical depth and principal quantum number since the long-range interaction between Rydberg atoms could dramatically change the shape of hysteresis trajectories. The reported results suggest that flipping trajectory features in cold Rydberg many-body systems could advance sensing and metrology applications.