Sensing with thermal Rydberg atoms

I will introduce the topic of using Rydberg atoms in thermal ensembles for sensing weak electric fields. The dipole moment allows for resonant sensing of microwave fields with excellent accuracy and a fundamental strength reference even in room-temperature atomic ensembles. We have extended this approach to facilitate the coherent conversion of microwave photons into near-infrared light. The experiment allows for the conversion and detection of photons down to the level of thermal blackbody radiation. I will discuss prospects for integrating our protocol with cavities to suppress thermal noise, applications that range from radars, through radio-astronomy, to quantum interconnects, and finally the use of similar techniques to explore atom-atom interactions.