Observation of fractional revivals in the evolution of a Rydberg atomic wave packet

Abstract

Rydberg atomic wave packets have demonstrated striking classical properties. In particular, the wave packets display regions in which they evolve like classical atoms. However, between these regions the wave packet is dispersed and its evolution departs from the classical model. In these nonclassical regions, the wave packet can either be dispersed or coalesced into a number of equally spaced sub-wave-packets. The regions in which the sub-wave-packets appear have come to be known as fractional revivals. This paper reports the observation of these fractional revivals and discusses their implications.