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Journal of Physics B Atomic and Molecular Physics

Non-adiabatic 2s-2p state mixing in metastable hydrogen by electric fields

Freddy Brouillard, G. Van Wassenhove

Published Dec 1, 1974• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The evolution of a (n=2) hydrogen atom passing through a linearly increasing or decreasing electric field is calculated in a three-state approximation. The observable fraction of 2p 1/2 , 2s 1/2 and 2p 3/2 quantum state in the resulting coherent mixture is calculated. The amplitude of the oscillations, which appear when the field parameters are varied, is shown to depend only on the rate of change of the field, as seen by the atom. Maps of oscillation amplitudes and average values are given for the metastable atom. Comparison is made with the sudden and adiabatic approximations.

DOI
10.1088/0022-3700/7/17/015

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Physical Review Letters•Mar 31, 2004•4 citations
The evolution of a (n=2) hydrogen atom passing through a linearly increasing or decreasing electric field is calculated in a three-state approximation. The observable fraction of 2p 1/2 , 2s 1/2 and 2p 3/2 quantum state in the resulting coherent mixture is calculated. The amplitude of the oscillations, which appear when the field parameters are varied, is shown to depend only on the rate of change of the field, as seen by the atom. Maps of oscillation amplitudes and average values are given for the metastable atom. Comparison is made with the sudden and adiabatic approximations.
The authors studied in an earlier paper (1985) the production of a fast beam of H(3s) atoms. They investigated the particular problem of a coherent laser excitation of the 3s 1/2 and 3p 1/2 Stark states from the 2s 1/2 metastable Stark state. They measured the 3s 1/2 fluorescence outside the electric field and quantal interference effects have been observed as a function of the electric field strength. A simple theoretical interpretation is proposed which takes into account the quasi-adiabatic evolution of the atom in the electric field under the authors' experimental conditions.
The strong field-induced quantum beats observed in beam-foil studies of Ly- alpha radiation are obtained in a conventional metastable-hydrogen quenching experiment. The phase relation between the Stark shifted 2s 1/2 -2p 1/2 Lamb-shift oscillations and the much more rapid 2s 1 -2p 3/2 fine-structure oscillations depends on the detailed way in which the quenching field is switched on. Apart from a phaseshift, the results agree with a non-perturbative theoretical calculation which assumes that the field is applied suddenly. Various frequency components of the time-dependent radiation intensity are identified with specific hyperfine transitions or groups of transitions. No adjustable parameters are used for the initial state amplitudes.
The linear polarization of Lyman-\ensuremath{\alpha} radiation emitted when hydrogen atoms in the metastable 2s1/2{\mathit{s}}_{1/2}s1/2​ state traverse an external electric field is studied as a function of the effective rise time of the field for field strengths extending from very small values up to 6 keV/cm. With decreasing rise time, the measured polarization exhibits a transition from adiabatic to sudden behavior. The transition region is centered at a rise time which is approximately equal to the characteristic time associated with the 2${\mathit{s}}_{1/2\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}222{\mathit{p}}_{1/2}$ Lamb splitting in the unperturbed hydrogen system. The experimental data are well described by the results of a time-dependent theory.
The interaction between a metastable H(2s) atomic hydrogen beam and an external electric field leads to the emission of the Lyman-α line. It originates in the Stark mixing of the near-degenerate 2s1/2 and 2p1/2 levels separated by the Lamb shift. The quenched radiation proportional to the square of the electric field amplitude is recovered in vacuum by using such an atomic probe beam. We observe the strong enhancement of the signal when the field is oscillating at the Lamb shift frequency. This technique is applied in a plasma, offering an alternative way to measure weak electric fields by direct and non-intrusive means.
For pt.I see ibid., vol.18, no.18, p.3557-37 (1985). A quantitative description of H(3s) atoms produced by laser excitation of a metastable hydrogen beam in an electric field is performed and compared with the recent experimental results of Claeys et al. (1985). The Stark effect for n=3 is calculated to obtain the relative intensities of the five Stark transitions as a function of the field strength. Good agreement with the experimental values is found. The dynamical behaviour of the 3s and 3p Stark states when the atoms leave the field is then analysed. Due to the adiabatic evolution we found that only one Stark state can produce H(3s) atoms.