Rydberg-Atom Sensors in Bichromatic Radio-Frequency Fields

Rydberg-atom-based sensors are a type of radio-frequency sensor that is inherently quantum mechanical. Several configurations of the sensor use a local oscillator to determine the properties of the target radio-frequency field. We explain how the physics of Rydberg-atom-based sensors in two or more radio-frequency fields can be precisely described by a multiply dressed Jaynes-Cummings model. Studying Rydberg-atom-based sensors in two or more near-resonant radio-frequency fields is important for understanding how interfering signals as well as the local oscillator can affect measurements. Studies, so far, focus on a simplified approximation for the local oscillator-target field interaction that uses an analogy to radio-frequency heterodyning. The atom acts as a medium for exchanging electromagnetic field excitations of the field modes whose spectrum is a ladder. The Jaynes-Cummings states and their avoided crossings can be used to determine the properties of the radio-frequency fields. Radio-frequency field sensitivity enhancement for nonresonant radio frequencies is achieved and self-calibrated measurements are recovered under specific conditions described by the theory. © 2023 American Physical Society.