Imaging a Chain of Rydberg Superatoms Enabled by Förster-Resonance-Enhanced Interaction

We demonstrate single-shot and in situ absorption imaging of individual Rydberg superatoms. This level of resolution is achieved using an electromagnetically induced transparency scheme involving a Rydberg energy level that is highly sensitive to the presence of Rydberg superatoms due to Förster-resonance-enhanced dipole couplings. Spectroscopic measurements illustrate the existence of the Förster resonance and underscore the state-selectivity of the technique. With an imaging exposure time as short as 3 μs, we successfully resolve linear chains of Rydberg superatoms excited in a one-dimensional configuration. The extracted second-order correlation shows strong anti-bunching due to excitation blockade, and a Fourier analysis reveals the long-range order in the chains of Rydberg superatoms. This imaging technique, with minimal destruction, will be of great interest for leveraging ensemble-encoded qubits in quantum computation and quantum simulation applications.