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arXiv:2507.00948 · Physical Review A

Blackbody radiation Zeeman shift in Rydberg atoms

K. Beloy, B. D. Hunt, Roger C. Brown, Tobias Bothwell, Youssef S. Hassan, Jacob L. Siegel, T. Grogan, Andrew D. Ludlow

Published Jun 6, 2025• 3 citations
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Abstract

We consider the Zeeman shift in Rydberg atoms induced by room-temperature blackbody radiation (BBR). BBR shifts to the Rydberg levels are dominated by the familiar BBR Stark shift. However, the BBR Stark shift and the BBR Zeeman shift exhibit different behaviors with respect to the principal quantum number of the Rydberg electron. Namely, the BBR Stark shift asymptotically approaches a constant value given by a universal expression, whereas the BBR Zeeman shift grows steeply with principal quantum number due to the diamagnetic contribution. We show that for transitions between Rydberg states, where only the differential shift between levels is of concern, the BBR Zeeman shift can surpass the BBR Stark shift. We exemplify this in the context of a proposed experiment targeting a precise determination of the Rydberg constant.

DOI
10.1103/m3rh-sdly

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We consider the Zeeman shift in Rydberg atoms induced by room-temperature blackbody radiation (BBR). BBR shifts to the Rydberg levels are dominated by the familiar BBR Stark shift. However, the BBR Stark shift and the BBR Zeeman shift exhibit different behaviors with respect to the principal quantum number of the Rydberg electron. Namely, the BBR Stark shift asymptotically approaches a constant value given by a universal expression, whereas the BBR Zeeman shift grows steeply with principal quantum number due to the diamagnetic contribution. We show that for transitions between Rydberg states, where only the differential shift between levels is of concern, the BBR Zeeman shift can surpass the BBR Stark shift. We exemplify this in the context of a proposed experiment targeting a precise determination of the Rydberg constant.
Abstract First evaluations of the blackbody-radiation (BBR)-induced shift and broadening of highly excited Rydberg states were based on the account of only the first term of the expansion for the Planck’s distribution in powers of the ratio of the BBR-photon energy to the environmental thermal energy. The corresponding asymptotic expression for the shift is proportional to a sum rule for the oscillator strengths, which is identical for all states, independently of their principal and angular-momentum quantum numbers. The broadening appeared proportional to the sum of the oscillator-strength first moments, which is dependent on only the principal quantum number, being independent of the state’s angular momentum. In this article, we demonstrate that the account of higher-order terms of the Planck’s distribution expansion provides corrections revealing the dependence of asymptotic shift and broadening on the Rydberg-state principal and angular-momentum quantum numbers. The strongest corrections are observed for states with low angular momenta, in agreement with earlier performed numerical calculations. Sum rules for higher moments of oscillator strengths are used for evaluating the corrections for the BBR-induced broadening and shift of Rydberg-state energy levels in neutral atoms and ions of arbitrary nuclear charge Z .
We have studied ionization of alkali-metal Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR). The results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs Rydberg atoms are presented. The calculations have been performed for nS, nP and nD states for principal quantum numbers n=8-65 at ambient temperatures of 77, 300 and 600 K. The calculations take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of the measured ionization rates and their n-dependence. A Cooper minimum for BBR-induced transitions between bound Rydberg states of Li has been found. The calculated ionization rates are compared with our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na nS and nD Rydberg states with n=8-20 at 300 K. A good agreement for all states except nS with n> 15 is observed. Useful analytical formulas for quick estimates of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms are presented. Application of BBR-induced ionization signal to
We have studied ionization of alkali-metal Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR). The results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs Rydberg atoms are presented. The calculations have been performed for n S, n P and n D states for principal quantum numbers n =8–65 at ambient temperatures of 77, 300 and 600 K. The calculations take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of the measured ionization rates and their n dependence. A Cooper minimum for BBR-induced transitions between bound Rydberg states of Li has been found. The calculated ionization rates are compared with our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na n S and n D Rydberg states with n =8–20 at 300 K. Good agreement for all states except n S with n >15 is observed. Useful analytical formulae for quick estimates of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms are presented. Application of BBR-induced ionization signal to measurements of collisional ionization rates is demonstrated.
Blackbody radiation is expected to produce a temperature-dependent Stark shift in atomic Rydberg states. Unfortunately, in "one-electron" atoms, all the Rydberg levels experience the same shift, and the effect is only observable on an optical transition from the ground state. However, in a many-electron atom the presence of valence-state perturbers leads to unequal shifts of the Rydberg levels. This should make it possible to observe the frequency shift of a transition between two neighboring Rydberg states at a frequency in the radio-frequency range. This eliminates the need for a very stable visible laser, which so far has been the major technical obstacle to the observation and utilization of the effect. We present as an example a specific case in Ba.
Results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Rb and Na Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR) are presented. Calculations have been performed for nSnSnS, nPnPnP, and nDnDnD states of Na and Rb, which are commonly used in a variety of experiments, at principal quantum numbers n=8−−65n=8--65n=8−−65 and at three ambient temperatures of 77, 300, and 600K600\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}600K. A peculiarity of our calculations is that we take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of measured ionization rates and shapes of their dependences on nnn. The calculated ionization rates are compared with the results of our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na nSnSnS and nDnDnD Rydberg states with n=8−−20n=8--20n=8−−20 at 300K300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}300K. A good agreement for all states except nSnSnS with n>15n>15n>15 is observed. We also present the useful analytical formulas for the quick estimation of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms.
Abstract We calculate the radiative transition rates of Rb nF Rydberg states due to both spontaneous emission and blackbody radiation (BBR), covering principal quantum numbers from n = 4 to n = 65, at temperatures of 0, 77, 300, and 520 K. The contribution of BBR-induced transitions to the total bound-to-bound transition rate is 24.6 % for the 21 F 7 / 2 state at T = 520 K , indicating the contribution of BBR may have been underestimated in a previous study by Gounand et al (1980 J. Phys. France 41 119). We checked our calculation procedure for consistency with available theoretical and experimental data for the nS , nP , and nD series of Rb.