Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency in a large Hilbert space

We study Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of cesium atoms in a magnetic field. The ladder level scheme consists of ground (6S(1/2)), excited (6P(3/2)), and Rydberg (48D(5/2)) levels. The relevant 96 relevant magnetic sublevels are coupled to each other via coherent coupling and decay. A quantum Monte Carlo wave-function (QMCWF) approach is employed to solve the quantum master equation. The simulated EIT probe-absorption spectra and their magnetic-field dependence are compared with results of a cold-atom experiment, in which we perform an in situ, atom-based measurement of a rapidly decaying eddy-current magnetic field. The EIT spectrum in the magnetic field has two dominant lines with a Zeeman splitting of 5.6 MHz per gauss, which are employed to measure the magnetic field. The QMCWF results show good agreement with the experiment, exhibit additional spectroscopic features, and provide insights into the optical-pumping dynamics, radiation-pressure effects, and the relation of these phenomena with the EIT behavior.