Dependence of Rydberg-atom optical lattices on the angular wave function.

We investigate the dependence of optical-lattice trapping potentials for Rydberg atoms on the angular portion of the atomic wave function. While ground-state atoms are pointlike in relation to an optical-lattice field, Rydberg-atom wave functions extend over a substantial fraction of the lattice period, which leads to a dependence of the lattice trapping potential on the angular portion of the spatial wave function. The angular dependence of the potential is measured using various (j, m(j)) levels of 85Rb Rydberg nD states (50≤n≤65) prepared in a one-dimensional optical lattice (wavelength 1064 nm) and a transverse dc electric field. The measured optical-lattice depths are found to be in agreement with theoretical results.