Interacting Rydberg atoms on a chip

Due to their extreme properties, Rydberg atoms are interesting candidates for applications in quantum information science. Their large, tunable, interactions, for one, can be switched on and off at will with a laser pulse, enabling the generation of entangled states in the blink of an eye. In many-particle systems (such as a thermal cloud) cooperative phenomena play a role, which make this interaction even more unusual. It turns out that geometry is important as well, and that Rydberg atoms behave differently in low-dimensional systems. In this thesis, we investigate the implications of this behavior both theoretically and experimentally in an atom-chip experiment optimized for trapping and cooling highly elongated clouds of rubidium atoms.