Chirped pulse excitation of two-atom Rydberg states

We analyze the excitation of two ground state atoms to a double Rydberg state by a two-photon chirped optical pulse in the regime of adiabatic rapid passage (ARP). For intermediate Rydberg-Rydberg interaction strengths relevant for atoms separated by similar to ten mu m, adiabatic excitation can be achieved at experimentally feasible Rabi frequencies and chirp rates of the pulses, resulting in high transfer efficiencies. We also study the adiabatic transfer between ground and Rydberg states as a means to realize a controlled phase gate between atomic qubits.