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Physical Review Letters

Realization of Localized Bohr-Like Wave Packets

J. J. Mestayer, B. Wyker, J. C. Lancaster, F. B. Dunning, Carlos O Reinhold, S. Yoshida, Joachim Burgdörfer

Published Jun 20, 2008• 41 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a protocol to create localized wave packets in very-high-n Rydberg states which travel in nearly circular orbits around the nucleus. Although these wave packets slowly dephase and eventually lose their localization, their motion can be monitored over several orbital periods. These wave packets represent the closest analog yet achieved to the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, i.e., an electron in a circular classical orbit around the nucleus. The possible extension of the approach to create "planetary atoms" in highly correlated stable multiply excited states is discussed.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.100.243004

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We demonstrate a protocol to create localized wave packets in very-high-n Rydberg states which travel in nearly circular orbits around the nucleus. Although these wave packets slowly dephase and eventually lose their localization, their motion can be monitored over several orbital periods. These wave packets represent the closest analog yet achieved to the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, i.e., an electron in a circular classical orbit around the nucleus. The possible extension of the approach to create "planetary atoms" in highly correlated stable multiply excited states is discussed.
We demonstrate the use of a periodic train of half-cycle pulses to maintain strongly-localized wave packets in very-high-nnn $(n\ensuremath{\sim}300)$ Rydberg atoms that travel in near-circular orbits about the nucleus. This motion can be followed for hundreds of orbital periods and mimics the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom which envisioned an electron in circular classical orbit about the nucleus.
Localized wavepackets are created in high- n ( n ~ 300) Rydberg atoms which travel in near-circular orbits around the nucleus. Application of carefully tailored electric fields to quasi-1D Rydberg atoms creates coherent superpositions of Stark states with near extreme values of one of the components of the angular momentum. Half-cycle electric field pulses (HCPs) probe the dynamics of the circular states producing signature oscillations in survival probability that correspond to the expected wavepacket evolution. Although these wavepackets slowly dephase and lose their localization, their motion can be followed for several orbits and provides an analog of the original Bohr model, i.e., an electron in circular classical orbit around the nucleus. Measurements of the asymmetry in survival probability with increasing probe strength at different phases of the orbit confirm orbital motion of the wavepacket. Classical trajectory Monte-Carlo simulations (CTMC) agree with experimental results, and provide promising leads for future studies.
We demonstrate the experimental realization of Bohr-like atoms by applying a pulsed unidirectional field, termed a half-cycle pulse (HCP), to atoms in quasi-two-dimensional near-circular states. This leads to creation of localized wave packets that travel in near-circular orbits and mimic the dynamics of an electron in the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom. This motion can be followed for several orbital periods before the localization of the wave packet is lost due to dephasing. We show, however, that localization can be recovered by application of further HCPs.
We describe how, almost 100 years after the introduction of the Bohr model of the atom, it is now possible using pulsed electric fields to create localized wavepackets in high n (n≈300) Rydberg atoms that travel in near-circular Bohr-like orbits mimicking the behavior of a classical electron. The protocols employed are explained with the aid of quantum and classical dynamics. Although many aspects of the underlying behavior can be described using classical arguments, purely quantum effects such as revivals can be seen even for n≈300.
Rydberg atoms are atoms with a highly excited electron. In his Perspective, Villeneuve explains that by creating a coherent superposition of Rydberg states, the electron can be made to behave almost like a classical Rutherford atom. He highlights the report by Maeda et al., who show that they can force the electron wave packet to remain localized for thousands of highly elliptical orbits around the nucleus, much like a miniature planetary system. Such experiments help to bridge the gap between the quantum mechanical world and our everyday classical world.