In a recent experiment, Lindahl et al. ( Lindahl A. O. et al. , Phys. Rev. Lett. , 108 (2012) 033004) observed a new threshold behavior in the photodetachment of the potassium negative ion when the residual atom is left in the state. Unfortunately the resonance close to threshold made it more difficult to apply the semi-classical model that was developed to describe the threshold behavior. In this paper we present a study of the threshold behavior of the partial cross-section in the photodetachment of the sodium negative ion. The experiment was conducted using a collinear beams apparatus where the detection was performed using a resonance ionization scheme. We observe the same threshold behavior as in the previous experiment, but without any obfuscating resonance. The model derived in the previous paper is found to fit the observed cross-section up to 35 meV above threshold. The present experiment clearly demonstrates the threshold behaviour for the fundamental process of a free electron moving in the field of an atom with a large negative polarizability.
A collinear beam apparatus has been used to study photodetachment of Cs${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. Partial cross sections were measured using state-selective detection based on a resonance ionization scheme. Several resonances were observed in the Cs(
102S), Cs(
62F), Cs(
62G), and Cs(
62H) final-state channels below the Cs(
102P3/2) channel opening. A model was developed to account for the interference between overlapping resonances. This model is essentially a generalization of the Fano [U. Fano, Phys. Rev. 124, 1866 (1961)] and Shore [B. W. Shore, Phys. Rev. 171, 43 (1968)] parametrizations for single resonances. Resonance parameters were extracted by fitting the model to the data sets. The openings of the Cs(
102S) and Cs(
62F) channels, where the polarizabilities of the atomic states are large and positive, showed rapid onsets. In the case of the Cs(
62G) and Cs(
62H) channels, on the other hand, the photodetachment cross sections increased slowly with energy. For the Cs(
62H) channel this is the expected behavior, since it is the result of a large and negative polarizability of the
62H state. In addition, the excitation of the Cs(
62H) state with respect to the Cs ground state was found to be 28 356.3(2) ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, in agreement with a previous experiment.
The photodetachment cross section of has been measured in the photon energy range 2.9-3.3 eV in order to investigate doubly excited states. Measurements were made channel specific by selectively detecting the residual He atoms left in a particular excited state following detachment. Three Feshbach resonances were found in the partial cross section: a resonance below the threshold and two resonances below the threshold. The measured energies of these doubly excited states are 2.959 260(6), 3.072(7) and 3.264 87(5) eV. The corresponding widths are found to be 0.20(2), 50(5) and 0.61(5) meV. The measured energies agree well with recent theoretical predictions for the , and states, respectively, but the widths deviate noticeably from calculations for and states.
Photodetachment from negative ions in a static electric field has been studied using ${\mathrm{Cl}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ and ${\mathrm{S}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$. These experiments were done with greater precision than previous studies and allow a quantitative comparison of data with theory. A 10-keV ion beam was sent through a region with fields of up to 1.5 kV/cm applied parallel to the beam velocity. A pulsed dye-laser beam, perpendicular to the ion beam, photoneutralized the ions. The relative cross sections were measured by detecting the resulting fast neutral atoms. Detachment below threshold and oscillations on the cross section above threshold were observed near the ${\mathrm{S}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ threshold at 16 269.5 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ and near the ${\mathrm{Cl}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ threshold at 29 138.3 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. The phase of the oscillations in the data is in good agreement with predictions for s-wave photodetachment in a static electric field, but the amplitude of the oscillations is found to be slightly reduced.
We have measured the near-threshold cross sections for the photodetachment of ${\mathrm{Li}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ into the ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(ks,d)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Li}(2{p}_{1∕2})$, ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(ks,d)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Li}(3p)$, ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(kp)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Li}(3s)$, and ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(kp)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Li}(4s)$ continuum channels and the photodetachment of ${\mathrm{K}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ into the ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(ks,d)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{K}(4{p}_{3∕2})$ continuum channel. The data was analyzed using both a top-of-barrier model and a modified effective range theory. Both approaches explicitly take into account the significant polarization potential in the final continuum channels. The study involving both experiment and theory enabled us to investigate the effect of the polarization on near-threshold photodetachment. Furthermore, since photodetachment and electron scattering are related in the half-collision concept, we were able to determine low-energy electron scattering quantities such as phase shifts, elastic cross sections, and
s wave scattering lengths for electron scattering on excited Li and K atoms. The results allowed us to predict a virtual state in the ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}(ks)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Li}(3p)$ system.