In the laboratory of the University of Stuttgart, atoms that in their ordinary state do not exceed the size of a speck of dust suddenly became giants. Their electron orbits reached a diameter of 1,1 micrometers — ten thousand times larger than those of ordinary atoms. It was precisely such "swollen" Rydberg atoms that allowed physicists to break three world records at once.
The key to success is the transition to circular Rydberg states at room temperature. Previously, cooling with liquid helium was required to protect against thermal radiation. The team led by Professor Tilman Pfau and Dr. Florian Meinert shielded the atoms from blackbody radiation and achieved a lifetime of 11 milliseconds — twenty times longer than previous results. At the same time, they recorded a record storage time in optical tweezers — 133 milliseconds.
Rydberg atoms interact at a distance of five micrometers — an enormous distance by atomic standards. This makes it possible to arrange them into ordered arrays and precisely control the interaction, which is critical for quantum simulators. Neutral atoms in optical tweezers are already considered one of the most promising platforms for scalable quantum devices.
The achievement is important not only for fundamental science. A long storage time for quantum information reduces the probability of errors during computations, while operation at room temperature removes the main barrier on the path to practical application. The researchers note that their method relies on a physical idea from the 1980s, but adapted to modern quantum platforms.
In the coming years, the group plans to create more powerful quantum simulators, computers and high-precision sensors on this basis. The publication in Nature Communications confirms: the three records are not an accident, but a systemic breakthrough bringing closer the era of reliable quantum technologies.
