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arXiv:0809.1082 · Physical Review Letters

Microwave-Driven Atoms: From Anderson Localization to Einstein’s Photoeffect

Alexej Schelle, Dominique Delande, Andreas Buchleitner

Published May 4, 2009• 19 citations
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Abstract

We study the counterpart of Anderson localization in driven one-electron Rydberg atoms. By changing the initial Rydberg state at fixed microwave frequency and interaction time, we numerically monitor the crossover from Anderson localization to the photoeffect in the atomic ionization signal.
DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.102.183001

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Microwave ionization and excitation of Rydberg atoms provides a system in which quantitative experiments can be done to study single electron atoms in strong fields. In many cases microwave ionization proceeds by means of transitions through other bound states. Multiphoton transitions between two relatively isolated K Rydberg states have been examined under a variety of circumstances to establish the connection between transitions driven by quasi static fields and photon absorption and to understand the evolution during pulses of microwaves.
Anderson localization is related to exponential localization of a particle in the configuration space in the presence of a disorder potential. Anderson localization can be also observed in the momentum space and corresponds to quantum suppression of classical diffusion in systems that are classically chaotic. Another kind of Anderson localization has been recently proposed, i.e., localization in the time domain due to the presence of disorder in time. That is, the probability density for the detection of a system at a fixed position in the configuration space is localized exponentially around a certain moment of time if a system is driven by a force that fluctuates in time. We show that an electron in a Rydberg atom, perturbed by a fluctuating microwave field, Anderson localizes along a classical periodic orbit. In other words the probability density for the detection of an electron at a fixed position on an orbit is exponentially localized around a certain time moment. This phenomenon can be experimentally observed.
Microwave ionization of Rydberg atoms is well described as the onset of classical chaos when the microwave frequency omega is less than the Kepler frequency 1/n(3). However, when omega>1/n(3), i.e., at high scaled frequency Omega=omegan(3)>1, classical ionization is predicted to be suppressed by quantum interference, an analogue to Anderson localization in a solid. Using 17.55 GHz microwave fields we have observed the ionization of Sr Rydberg atoms in the regime 1</=Omega</=5 . Our measurements demonstrate the quantum suppression of classical diffusive ionization and show the ionization field to be n independent in this regime.