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Resolving magnetic-sublevel structure in Rydberg Autler-Townes spectra with arbitrary rf polarization

Noah Schlossberger1,*, Rajavardhan Talashila1,2, Stone B. Oliver1,2, Nikunjkumar Prajapati1, William J. Watterson1, and Christopher L. Holloway1

  • *Contact author: noah.schlossberger@nist.gov
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033701 – Published 1 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/w5k9-1mlh

Abstract

We investigate the role of magnetic sublevels in Autler-Townes spectra of Rydberg atoms driven by radio-frequency (rf) fields with arbitrary polarization. While conventional treatments predict two symmetric sidebands from independent mJ transitions, experiments have reported additional unexplained spectral features. We show that these arise from elliptical rf polarization, which coherently couples multiple magnetic sublevels and requires a full multilevel treatment. We develop and diagonalize a Hamiltonian including all coupled mJ sublevels, predicting polarization-dependent degeneracies that produce varying numbers of resolved peaks. Using long-wavelength transitions and an anechoic environment we realize homogeneous rf fields that enable complete resolution of the mJ-dependent dressed states. We observe excellent agreement with theory as the rf ellipticity is varied. These results demonstrate that rf polarization fundamentally modifies Autler-Townes spectra and provide a consistent framework for interpreting magnetic-sublevel structures, with implications for Rydberg-based rf electrometry and polarimetry.

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Corrections

2 September, 2026

Correction: An explanatory note in Ref. [12] was omitted during the proof process and has been inserted.

Article Text

References (21)

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033701– Published 1 September, 2026
  • Received 11 May 2026
  • Accepted 23 July 2026
  • Corrected 2 September 2026
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