Stuttgart physicists set three records with giant Rydberg atoms

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart's 5th Institute of Physics set three records for circular Rydberg atoms: an 11 ms lifetime, an electron orbit about 1.1 µm across, and 133 ms of trapping in optical tweezers. The results were achieved at room temperature without costly liquid helium cooling and published in Nature Communications.

• Circular state lifetime of 11 ms, over 20 times longer than comparable free-space states
• Electron orbit about 1.1 µm in diameter, roughly 10,000 times larger than ordinary atoms
• Atoms held in optical tweezers for 133 ms
• Records achieved at room temperature without liquid helium cooling