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Jaynes-Cummings dynamics in mesoscopic ensembles of Rydberg-blockaded atoms

We show that Jaynes-Cummings dynamics can be observed in mesoscopic atomic ensembles interacting with a classical electromagnetic field in the regime of Rydberg blockade, where the time dynamics of the average number of Rydberg excitations in mesoscopic ensembles displays collapses and revivals typical of this model. As the frequency of Rabi oscillations between collective states of Rydberg blockaded ensembles depends on the number of interacting atoms, for randomly loaded optical dipole traps we predict collapses and revivals of Rabi oscillations. We have studied the effects of finite interaction strengths and finite laser line width on the visibility of the revivals. We have shown that observation of collapses and revivals of Rabi oscillations can be used as a signature of Rydberg blockade without the need to measure the exact number of Rydberg atoms.