Atom-based power-frequency electric field measurement using the radio-frequency-modulated Rydberg spectroscopy

The radio-frequency modulated electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a ladder three-level system with Rydberg state is studied. Under the influence of a fast radio-frequency field, the EIT peak splits into a series of sidebands. When attaching a power-frequency electric field directly to the fast radio-frequency field, the odd-order sidebands of the Rydberg-EIT oscillate sensitively with the power-frequency field. The oscillation frequency is equal to twice the power frequency; the oscillation amplitude is monotonically increasing with the amplitude of the power-frequency field when the change of Stark-shift is smaller than the radio frequency. Our work paves the way for measurement of power-frequency electric field based on Rydberg atoms.

Automated summary

The study investigates radio-frequency modulated electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a ladder three-level system with Rydberg state. The EIT peak splits into a series of sidebands under the influence of a fast radio-frequency field. Attaching a power-frequency electric field directly to the fast radio-frequency field causes the odd-order sidebands of the Rydberg-EIT to oscillate sensitively with the power-frequency field. The oscillation frequency is twice the power frequency, and the amplitude increases monotonically with the amplitude of the power-frequency field when the Stark-shift change is smaller than the radio frequency. This work lays the foundation for measuring power-frequency electric fields based on Rydberg atoms.