A major goal of modern physics is the understanding of many-body highly-interacting systems. Cold atoms allow these
studies with a good control over the experimental parameters. So-called “Rydberg” atoms are highly excited atoms
displaying extremely large interactions [1]. So far, studies on alkali atoms are limited due to the absence of optical
transitions once the electron is promoted to a Rydberg level. Which is why we propose to use ytterbium atoms
possessing two valence electrons. The second electron will allow optical manipulation of the Rydberg atom as if it were
the ion. This technique opens new perspectives towards applications in quantum computing [2].

In order to apply these new techniques, a good control over electric field and a precise knowledge of Stark effect is
required. Our team succeeded in modeling ytterbium at zero field [3] and we have recently added Stark effect to our
calculations. This internship, which could be prolonged for a PhD, will consist in computing Stark effect on
ytterbium Rydberg atoms. On a longer term, during a PhD, we search for resonances suitable for quantum gates.
The internship will take place within “Matière Froide et Corrélée” team of our laboratory.

[1] T. F. Gallagher, Rydberg atoms (Cambridge University Press 1994)
[2] Fast three-qubit Toffoli quantum gate… I. I. Beterov et al., PRA 98, 042704 (2018)
[3] Laser and microwave spectroscopy of even-parity Rydberg states… H. Lehec et al., PRA 98, 062506 (2018)