Reducing The Sensitivity Of Rydberg Atoms To Dc Electric Fields Using Two-Frequency Ac Field Dressing

We propose a method for reducing the sensitivity of atomic ground-to-Rydberg transitions to stray dc electric fields, using microwave-induced dressing of Rydberg states. Calculations are presented for the Cs 90S(1/2) and 90P(3/2) states. With zero dc bias electric field, a two-frequency ac field is used to simultaneously reduce the sensitivity of both states to dc field variations. The sensitivity reduction is a factor of 95 for the 90S(1/2) state and a factor of 1600 for the 90P(3/2), m(J) = 3/2 state. We also show how the two-frequency ac field can be used to cancel both second-and fourth-order terms in the polarizability of a single Rydberg state. These results are relevant to improving the stability of experiments that seek to excite Rydberg atoms in the proximity of charged surfaces.