Rydberg Excitation of Bose-Einstein Condensates

Rydberg atoms provide a wide range of possibilities to tailor interactions in a quantum gas. Here, we report on Rydberg excitation of Bose-Einstein condensed {sup 87}Rb atoms. The Rydberg fraction was investigated for various excitation times and temperatures above and below the condensation temperature. The excitation is locally blocked by the van der Waals interaction between Rydberg atoms to a density-dependent limit. Therefore, the abrupt change of the thermal atomic density distribution to the characteristic bimodal distribution upon condensation could be observed in the Rydberg fraction. The observed features are reproduced by a simulation based on local collective Rydberg excitations.