Collisional broadening of Rydberg atom transitions by rare gas perturbers
Megan E Henry, Roger M. Herman
In this paper we present the results and discuss the applicability of an impact theory of lineshapes, developed by Henry and Herman for the pressure-induced broadening and shifting of transitions from the ground state to various Rydberg states of alkalis, to the situation in which the perturbing atoms are ground-state rare gas atoms. This theory, which has successfully described the collisional broadening of Rydberg states by alkali atoms, can without major alterations predict the widths and shifts of Doppler-free two-photon transitions to n S and n D states of Rb and Na, 6⩽ n ⩽30, perturbed by He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe. The results in all cases show reasonable agreement with experiment, with the transitions to Na**( n D) states being somewhat less satisfactory than the others.
Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Jan 10, 2002•7 citations