  A kick from a unipolar half-cycle pulse (HCP) can redistribute population and
shift the relative phase between states in a radial Rydberg wave packet. We
have measured the quantum coherence properties following the kick, and show
that selected coherences can be destroyed by applying an HCP at specific times.
Quantum mechanical simulations show that this is due to redistribution of the
angular momentum in the presence of noise. These results have implications for
the storage and retrieval of quantum information in the wave packet.

Quantum Physics