We propose an ultrafast femtosecond time scale trichromatic π-pulse illumination scheme for coherent excitation and manipulation of low-lying Rydberg states in rubidium. Selective population of nP3/2 levels with principal quantum numbers n≲12 using 75-fs laser pulses is achieved. The density-matrix equations of a four-level ladder system beyond the rotating-wave approximation have to be solved to clarify the balance between the principal quantum numbers, the duration of the laser pulses, and the associated ac-Stark effects for the fastest optimal excitation. The mechanism is robust for femtosecond control using different level configurations for applications in ultrafast quantum information processing and spectroscopy.

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