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Physical Review A

Characterization of quasi-one-dimensional Rydberg atoms using multiply directed half-cycle pulses

Wen Kui Zhao, J. C. Lancaster, F. B. Dunning, Carlos O Reinhold, Joachim Burgdörfer

Published Apr 8, 2004• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The characteristics of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) high-$n$ Rydberg atoms produced by photoexciting, in a weak dc field, extreme members of the $n=350$ Stark manifold are investigated by studying their ionization when subjected to unidirectional electric field pulses, termed half-cycle pulses (HCP's), of duration ${T}_{p}⪡{T}_{n}$ where ${T}_{n}$ is the classical electron orbital period, directed both parallel and perpendicular to the atomic axis. The observed differences in the ionization characteristics provide a measure of the anisotropy of the momentum distribution. It is shown that HCP's applied transverse to the atomic axis provide a particularly sensitive probe of the quasi-1D nature of the state. The experimental data are in good agreement with the results of classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.69.041401

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Civil War Book Review•Jan 1, 2000•0 citations
The characteristics of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) high-nnn Rydberg atoms produced by photoexciting, in a weak dc field, extreme members of the n=350n=350n=350 Stark manifold are investigated by studying their ionization when subjected to unidirectional electric field pulses, termed half-cycle pulses (HCP's), of duration Tp⪡Tn{T}_{p}⪡{T}_{n}Tp​⪡Tn​ where Tn{T}_{n}Tn​ is the classical electron orbital period, directed both parallel and perpendicular to the atomic axis. The observed differences in the ionization characteristics provide a measure of the anisotropy of the momentum distribution. It is shown that HCP's applied transverse to the atomic axis provide a particularly sensitive probe of the quasi-1D nature of the state. The experimental data are in good agreement with the results of classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations.
The characteristics of strongly-polarized quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) Rydberg atoms produced by photoexcitation of selected Stark states in the n = 350 Stark manifold are investigated by studying their ionization when subject to sub-nanosecond unidirectional electric field pulses, termed half-cycle pulses (HCPs), directed both parallel and perpendicular to the atomic axis. The observed differences in the ionization characteristics provide a measure of the anisotropy of the momentum distribution and thus of the quasi-1D nature of the states. The response of such states to a train of HCPs directed parallel and anti-parallel to the axis of polarization of the initial state is also investigated. Pronounced differences in the survival probability are observed confirming theoretical predictions that the dynamical response of the system will be very different for these two conditions. The presence of noise is also observed to play a crucial role in the dynamics. Reasonable agreement between experiment and theory is achieved.
The ionization of potassium np Rydberg atoms with n∼388n\sim388n∼388 by pulsed unidirectional electric fields, termed half-cycle pulses (HCPs), with various well-characterized shapes (rectangular, triangular, and sawtooth) and durations $T\sb{p}$ comparable to the classical electron orbital period $T\sb{n}$ is investigated. The experimental results are compared to classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) simulations and the classically-scaled results of quantum calculations undertaken at n=5.n=5.n=5. The data show that in the intermediate regime, $T\sb{p}\sim T\sb{n},$ the threshold field for ionization becomes sensitive to the shape and rise time of the HCP, increasing with increasing rise time. For each pulse shape, the agreement between the experimental measurements and both the CTMC and quantum calculations is very good.
The influence of a superposed offset field on the response of highly polarized (quasi-1D) very-high-nnn Rydberg atoms to a periodic train of unidirectional half-cycle pulses (HCPs) is investigated, both experimentally and theoretically. It is observed that the presence of an offset field strongly influences the dynamics. The electronic states become transiently stabilized and trapped near the ionization threshold when the net average field they experience is near zero irrespective of whether the HCPs, applied parallel to the atomic axis, are directed towards or away from the nucleus. The nature of this stabilization is explored using Poincar\'e surfaces of section. In large offset fields, direct field ionization becomes possible but it is demonstrated that this can be suppressed by application of an oppositely directed HCP train. The use of such ``frustrated field ionization'' to measure the polarization of Rydberg atoms is discussed.
The production of high-nnn, $n\ensuremath{\sim}300$, quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) strontium Rydberg atoms through two-photon excitation of selected extreme Stark states in the presence of a weak dc field is examined using a crossed laser-atom beam geometry. The dipolar polarization of the electron wave function in the product states is probed using two independent techniques. The experimental data are analyzed with a classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulation employing initial ensembles that are obtained with the aid of quantum calculations based on a two-active-electron model. Comparisons between theory and experiment highlight different characteristics of the product quasi-1D states, in particular, their large permanent dipole moments, $\ensuremath{\sim}1.0to1.21.0 to 1.21.0to1.2{n}^{2}e{a}_{0}$, where eee is the electronic charge and a0{a}_{0}a0​ is the Bohr radius. Such states can be engineered using pulsed electric fields to create a wide variety of target states.
Quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) atoms can be produced by photoexciting selected Stark states in the presence of a weak do field. For n ≥ 500, such direct excitation of quasi-ID atoms becomes problematic because stray fields and effective laser linewidths lead to creation of a range of Stark states with no preferred orientation. We show here that very-high- n quasi-1D atoms can be produced by a multi-step process in which lower- n ( n ∼350) quasi-1D atoms are first produced. The excited electron is then localized in phase space near the outer classical turning point at which time it is transferred to a highly-elongated very-high- n orbit using a half cycle pulse (HCP). This leads to the population of a broad distribution of final n states centered at n ∼580. It is shown that this broad distribution can be dramatically narrowed by subsequent application of further HCPs. The factors that govern the final n distribution are discussed with the aid of classical simulations. The availability of very-high- n quasi-1D atoms allows the dynamics of the periodically kicked atom to be examined at high scaled frequencies, v 0 ≈15. Novel behavior, such as local increases in survival probability with increasing number of kicks, is observed.
We study the dynamics of highly excited (Rydberg) atoms in laboratory-scale magnetic fields via their ionization by THz half-cycle pulses (HCPs). A half-cycle pulse is a unipolar electromagnetic pulse that can probe an atomic electron at all points along its orbit around the atomic core. The dynamical evolution of diamagnetic Zeeman states subjected to an ultrashort (picosecond) HCP is calculated for both hydrogen and sodium atoms. Diamagnetic Zeeman states are localized parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. We use a grid-based pseudo-potential method to determine these eigenstates of the combined Coulomb-diamagnetic potential. We study states with principal quantum number n between 15--30 in the ℓ-mixing regime at magnetic fields of 1--6T. These initial states are subjected to the electric field of an HCP and their subsequent time evolution is calculated by solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. The HCP width is varied between the short pulse (impulsive) and the long pulse limit, keeping the total momentum transferred a constant. We calculate the total ionized fraction, and also the spectrum of the ionized photoelectrons. We find that, in the impulsive limit, where the width of the pulse is much smaller than typical time scales in the system, the calculated amount of ionization and the photoelectron spectra are different depending on the localization of the initial state. These differences are shown to be due to the different initial momentum distributions of the parallel and perpendicular states. As the duration of the HCP is made longer, we find that ionization is suppressed as compared with the impulsive limit. The states localized perpendicular to the magnetic field are found to be much more sensitive to the HCP width than the parallel states, reflecting the fact that the two classes of states interact with different parts of the Coulomb-diamagnetic potential during the HCP. The ionization characteristics are shown to scale classically with the principal quantum number. The results are presented in such a manner that they can be verified by experiment.