Excitation of Rydberg Atoms Using Laser Beams with Orbital Angular Momentum

Kyle Helland

Advisor: Dr. Enrique Galvez

A Rydberg atom is any atom in which at least one electron has been excited to a high-energy state (n>10). We produce Rydberg atoms using a sodium atom beam and a two-step laser excitation process. By using a special forked diffraction grating, we can produce a laser beam with helical wave fronts, which has orbital angular momentum and has a doughnut-shaped beam profile. We are investigating the transfer of this orbital angular momentum to Rydberg atoms when we use this doughnut beam to excite the electrons into a Rydberg state, typically 25<n<30.