Two-Electron Atoms

S. N. Pisharody, R. R. Jones

Coherent short-pulse laser excitation has been used to control the approximate energy and relative proximity of two valence electrons within the same alkaline-earth atom, thereby providing insight into the dynamical evolution of a three-body Coulomb system. Our time-domain experiments enable direct experimental study of the electron dynamics at the classical limit of a two-electron atom. As an example, we look at the mechanism of autoionization for one two-electron configuration class and find that the doubly excited atom decays through a single violent electron-electron collision rather than a gradual exchange of energy between the electrons.

K. T. Hecht

Koshun Suto

Einstein’s energy-momentum relationship, holds when the energy absorbed by a body is all converted to kinetic energy of that body. However, an electron in an atom acquires kinetic energy through emission of photon energy. Therefore, Einstein’s relationship cannot be applied to an bound electron in an atom. The author has already derived an energy-momentum relationship for an electron in a hydrogen atom. This paper incorporates de Broglie’s formula into the above relationship previously derived by the author. Also, if the momentum of an electron in a hydrogen atom is considered using an ellipse, it can be predicted that the electron has two types of momentum and two types of waves. This paper concludes that a moving electron has two types of waves.

Agapi Emmanouilidou, T. Uzer

We investigate the response of two three-body Coulomb systems when driven by attosecond half-cycle pulses: The electron transfer between two hydrogen atomic centers and the double ionization of the helium atom. Using very short half-cycle pulses (HCPs) which effectively deliver ``kicks'' to the electrons, we first study how a carefully chosen sequence of HCPs can be used to control to which of one of the two fixed atomic centers the electron gets reattached (HCP assisted electron transfer). Moving from one electron in two atomic centers to two electrons in one atomic center we then study the double ionization from the ground state of He by a sequence of attosecond time-scale HCPs, with each electron receiving effectively a ``kick'' from each HCP. We investigate how the net electric field of the sequence of HCPs affects the total and differential ionization probabilities.

Franz Schwabl