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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Ionization of Rydberg atoms by half-cycle pulses: effect of pulse shape and rise time

B. E. Tannian, Richard A. Popple, F. B. Dunning, S. Yoshida, Carlos O Reinhold, Joachim Burgdörfer

Published May 28, 1998• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The ionization of potassium np Rydberg atoms with $n\sim388$ 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 $n=5.$ 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.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/31/10/003

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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\sbpT\sb{p}T\sbp comparable to the classical electron orbital period T\sbnT\sb{n}T\sbn 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\sbp∼T\sbn,T\sb{p}\sim T\sb{n},T\sbp∼T\sbn, 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.
Nearly unipolar, subpicosecond half-cycle pulses (HCPs) have been used to ionize Ba+{\mathrm{Ba}}^{+}Ba+ ngngng Rydberg ions. The double ionization probability vs HCP field strength data are compared with analogous single ionization measurements for neutral Ba 6snd6snd6snd Rydberg atoms prepared in the same apparatus. We find that neutral and ionic Rydberg states with the same binding energies follow approximately the same ionization curves. Our findings are in agreement with the predictions of an impulsive ionization model and classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations.
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.
We study the ionization of Rydberg atoms by half-cycle electromagnetic pulses as a function of the duration of the pulses covering a broad range of time intervals connecting the adiabatic and sudden regimes. The threshold fields for ionization lie on a universal classical scaling invariant curve. We present quantum mechanical results which agree well with the universal curve. The n -2 threshold field scaling found experimentally is a linear approximation to the universal curve by the tangent in the region where the pulse duration is of the order of the orbital period of the atom. We predict the existence of an ultrashort pulse limit in which the threshold field scales as n -1 . Effects due to the non-hydrogenic core are negligible.
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.
Ionization of Rydberg atoms by short, half-cycle electrical pulses is investigated experimentally in the intermediate-pulse duration regime where the ionization threshold fields are determined both by the slew rate of the ionizing pulse and its duration. Electrical pulses with durations ranging from 140 ps to 9 ns and amplitudes up to are applied to rubidium and lithium atoms prepared in high Rydberg states by laser excitation (n ranges from 42 to 82). The amplitude of the 140 ps pulse required for ionization of the Rb and Li Rydberg population is found to be a factor of two higher than the expected amplitude based on diabatic field ionization and recent theoretical calculations by Reinhold et al (1993 26 L659). Using the longer pulses we studied the transition from the diabatic/adabatic ionization towards ionization in the impulse-kick regime.
We have ionized Rydberg atoms using subpicosecond half-cycle electromagnetic pulses. The threshold electric field required to ionize a Rydberg state with effective quantum number n∗{\mathit{n}}^{\mathrm{*}}n∗ is found to scale as ${\mathit{n}}^{\mathrm{*}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$ for states with n∗{\mathit{n}}^{\mathrm{*}}n∗>13 in contradistinction to the ${\mathit{n}}^{\mathrm{*}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$ threshold scaling for static field ionization and high order multiphoton ionization. This novel result is explained using a classical model.