Population transfer by multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage

Abstract

The population of atoms in Rydberg states is efficiently transferred with a change in principal quantum number $n$ of up to ten via multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage through a single multiphoton resonance using a frequency-chirped microwave pulse. A quantum-mechanical picture of multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage in a one-dimensional atom using a Floquet approach provides a good description of most, but not all, of the observed phenomena.