SPP 1929:  Giant Interactions in Rydberg Systems (GiRyd)

• Subject Area: Physics
• Term: since 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 273920612

Rydberg systems offer the unique opportunity to realize huge-range interactions between atomic, molecular or exciton systems. They are the subject of a highly active and exciting field of physics. During the first funding period, the Priority Programme Giant Interactions in Ryberg Systems (GiRyd) has already helped to bring physicists from different communities together to form a strong network. GiRyd is a timely and important investment. It covers a wide range of different platforms and approaches. In many different research directions great progress was achieved. Theory and experiment work together synergistically, they are well balanced in the program and their collaboration is important and strong. Highly novel as well as established techniques are part of GiRyd.German groups are already among the leaders of the field. Many internationally outstanding researchers are among the applicants. Supported by GiRyd, the German research community will stay a major driver of the field during the next years. Many new and fascinating ideas were discussed in the proposals and during the review meeting. Several breakthroughs can be expected.GiRyd plays a central role in making this research community very dynamic. Many young researchers have emerged recently and many PhD students find a great environment within GiRyd to do research in internationally competitive groups. GiRyd puts strong emphasis on the support of researchers early in their career, be it with workshops and summer schools, exchanges within and outside of GiRyd and direct financial funding. This effort is very valuable and important.The speaker, Tilman Pfau, is a highly renowned and respected leader of the field. He coordinates GiRyd remarkably well. Several PIs of GiRyd are located outside of Germany. Two of these PIs moved to positions outside of Germany during the first funding period and will now continue to contribute to GiRyd. The involvement of the PIs abroad greatly benefits the whole Priority Programme. Of the 32 applicants one is female. This reflects the situation of the whole field and cannot in any way be attributed to the activities or measures of the priority programme. To the contrary, the Priority Programme and the speaker are very aware of this imbalance and are actively trying to raise the fraction of female physicists working on related problems. For example, GiRyd promotes physics as an interesting subject to girls by contributions to the nation-wide “Girls’ Day”. Furthermore, GiRyd supported the production of an animated short clip on Rydberg physics directly catering to an audience of young girls. To make it easier to combine research and family, GiRyd for example provides child-care during events of the Priority Programme and a “KidsBox” that contains toys and other items that may be helpful when a parent has to take care of their child while working.GiRyd has excellent prospects to continue on its successful path and to further achieve leading results of very high international visibility. It is recommended for funding with highest priority.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Denmark, France, Israel, Turkey

Projects

• A Large Bandwidth Room Temperature Single Photon Source (Applicant Löw, Robert )
• A photon-photon quantum gate based on Rydberg interactions in a cavity (Applicant Dürr, Stephan )
• Charged and neutral long-range Rydberg molecules: Internal structure and wave packet dynamics (Applicant Hecker Denschlag, Johannes )
• Coherent Spin Dynamics in 2D Arrays of Rydberg Atoms (Applicant Birkl, Gerhard )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Pfau, Tilman )
• Creating a gas of ultracold ion pairs out of long-range Rydberg molecules (Applicant Deiglmayr, Johannes )
• Deterministic preparation of single potassium atoms in microtrap arrays for the quantum simulation of spin systems. (Applicant Groß, Christian )
• Dynamical processes in ultralong-range Rydberg molecules (Applicant Schmelcher, Peter )
• Dynamics of interacting Rydberg excitons in inhomogeneous structures (Applicant Scheel, Stefan )
• From few to many strongly interacting Rydberg polaritons (Applicant Hofferberth, Sebastian )
• Interacting Stationary Rydberg Polaritons in Two Dimensions (Applicants Pohl, Thomas ;  Weidemüller, Matthias )
• Local and single atom resolved study of non-linear excitation dynamics and dissipation in off-resonantly driven Rydberg gases (Applicant Bloch, Immanuel )
• Long-range Rydberg interactions mediated by a microwave cavity at finite temperature (Applicant Fortágh, József )
• Non-equilibrium phenomena in Rydberg lattice gases with facilitation constraints. (Applicants Groß, Christian ;  Lesanovsky, Igor )
• Non-equilibrium universality in driven Rydberg gases (Applicants Diehl, Sebastian ;  Whitlock, Shannon )
• Open system quantum simulation with Rydberg atoms (Applicant Weimer, Hendrik )
• Optimal preparation of many-body Rydberg states (Applicant Calarco, Tommaso )
• Ordered states of Rydberg-dressed ultracold quantum gases in optical lattices (Applicant Hofstetter, Walter )
• Photons interacting with Rydberg super atoms (Applicant Büchler, Hans Peter )
• Polaron formation in Rydberg systems and Rydberg excitations as a probe of correlated quantum matter (Applicant Schmidt, Richard )
• Quantum control of dissipative multi-partite entanglement generation in Rydberg atoms (Applicant Koch, Christiane )
• Quantum Hall effect and strongly interacting Rydberg polaritons (Applicant Fleischhauer, Michael )
• Quantum structures in Rydberg systems (Applicant Morigi, Giovanna )
• Realizing Rydberg induced long-range interactions in itinerant lattice systems (Applicant Bloch, Immanuel )
• Rydberg and ion impurities in ultracold quantum matter (Applicant Pfau, Tilman )
• Rydberg atoms inside hollow-core photonic crystal fibre (Applicants Joly, Nicolas Y. ;  Löw, Robert ;  Russell, Philip St. J. )
• Rydberg Exciton Interaction Dynamics (Applicant Aßmann, Marc Alexander )
• Rydberg polariton dynamics in quasi one dimensional geometries (Applicant Windpassinger, Patrick )
• Rydberg units interfaced: Coherence and Entanglement (Applicants Eisfeld, Alexander ;  Rost, Jan Michael )
• Spinor Rydberg Polaritons (Applicant Fleischhauer, Michael )
• Towards controlled interaction of Rydberg excitons in integrated and scalable solid state devices (Applicant Giessen, Harald )
• Trapped Rydberg ions exposed to fast electric field ramps (Applicant Schmidt-Kaler, Ferdinand )
• Ultracold heavy Rydberg systems and Rydberg molecules under a reaction microscope (Applicant Ott, Herwig )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Tilman Pfau