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 Rb-85 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.