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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

New scheme for producing circular orbital states in combined RF and static fields

L. Chen, M. Chéret, F. Roussel, G. Spiess

Published Aug 14, 1993• 28 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The authors propose to prepare oriented circular Rydberg states in atoms (i.e. states where one valence electron has spherical quantum numbers: m=l=n-1>>1) by combining the specific advantages of the adiabatic crossed-field method, recently tested in alkali and alkaline earth atoms, and of the adiabatic RF field method whose principle was described in 1986. The formal equivalence of the two methods is pointed out. Their association is made possible by considering the dynamical symmetry of the Coulomb potential. In order to illustrate the new process, calculations have been performed for the manifold n=5 of hydrogen.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/26/15/002

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Using the adiabatic crossed-field method we have prepared for the first time doubly excited barium atoms with one valence electron in an oriented circular Rydberg state (n=21, l=m=20, denoted 21c) and the other electron in a ${6\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{j}}$ state. In a fraction of these atoms the inner electron decays radiatively to a ${5\mathrm{d}}_{\mathrm{j}\ensuremath{'}}$ metastable level. The obtained circular-metastable doubly excited atoms are very stable. For the (${5\mathrm{d}}_{3/2>}$21c) state the autoionization lifetime \ensuremath{\tau} is longer than 400 \ensuremath{\mu}s; for the (${5\mathrm{d}}_{5/2}$21c) state, \ensuremath{\tau}=1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2 \ensuremath{\mu}s. the specific role of the 5d electron is demonstrated. \textcopyright{} 1990 The American Physical Society

Physical Review Letters•Dec 17, 1990•20 citations
The authors propose to prepare oriented circular Rydberg states in atoms (i.e. states where one valence electron has spherical quantum numbers: m=l=n-1>>1) by combining the specific advantages of the adiabatic crossed-field method, recently tested in alkali and alkaline earth atoms, and of the adiabatic RF field method whose principle was described in 1986. The formal equivalence of the two methods is pointed out. Their association is made possible by considering the dynamical symmetry of the Coulomb potential. In order to illustrate the new process, calculations have been performed for the manifold n=5 of hydrogen.
We describe the creation of circular states of hydrogen by adiabatic transfer of a Rydberg state in crossed electric and magnetic fields, and also by adiabatic passage in a rotating microwave field. The latter method permits rapid switching between the two circular states of a given nnn manifold. The two methods are demonstrated experimentally, and results are presented of an analysis of the field ionization properties of the circular states. An application for the circular states is illustrated by millimeter-wave resonance in hydrogen of the $n=29\ensuremath{\rightarrow}n=30$ transition.
The authors describe and analyse an RF-optical technique for exciting alkali atoms in an atomic beam to a specific high angular momentum Rydberg state. In the procedure the Rydberg states are dressed by an RF field and two optical photons are used to excite the dressed state that goes adiabatically into the desired Rydberg state as the RF field is turned off. They describe in detail the excitation of the aligned-circular-orbit states. The states have the maximum angular momentum quantum numbers for a given principal quantum number, and thus are the most nearly classical of all eigenstates. It is shown that in excess of 90% of the excited state population can be put into the aligned-circular-orbit state.
The resonant mechanism of interaction of alkaline-earth atoms having a low electron affinity to Rydberg atoms in circular (l = |m| = n–1) and near-circular states has been studied. To describe the dynamics of resonant processes accompanied by nonadiabatic transitions between ionic and Rydberg covalent terms of a quasimolecule, an approach based on the integration of coupled equations for the probability amplitudes has been developed taking into account the possibility of the decay of an anion in the Coulomb field of the positive ionic core of a highly excited atom. The approach involves the specific features of the problem associated with the structure of the wavefunction of a Rydberg electron in states with high orbital angular momenta l ~ n–1. This approach provides a much more accurate description of the dynamics of electronic transitions at collisions between atoms than that within the modified semiclassical Landau–Zener model. In addition, this approach makes it possible to effectively take into account many channels of the problem. The cross sections for resonant quenching of Rydberg states of the Li(nlm) atom with given principal n, orbital l = n–1, and magnetic m quantum numbers at thermal collisions with the Ca(4s 2) and Sr(5s 2) atoms have been calculated. The dependences of the results on n, m, and angle α between the relative velocity of the atoms and the normal to the plane of the orbit of the Rydberg electron have been obtained. The influence of orientational effects on the efficiency of the collisional destruction of circular and near-circular states has been studied. The results indicate a higher stability of such states to their perturbations by neutral particles as compared to usually studied nl states with low values of l (l ≪ n).
Circular atoms, i.e., Rydberg atoms with maximum angular momentum, are semiclassical atoms of great interest for Rydberg constant metrology and QED tests. Following a suggestion by Delande and Gay, we have prepared circular atoms by a new method, involving the adiabatic switching of crossed electric and magnetic fields. The method, which is demonstrated for Rydberg states of lithium (principal quantum number n=20to25n=20 \mathrm{to} 25n=20to25, is applicable over a wide variety of experiment conditions.
Using the adiabatic crossed-field method we have prepared for the first time doubly excited barium atoms with one valence electron in an oriented circular Rydberg state (n=21, l=m=20, denoted 21c) and the other electron in a 6pj{6\mathrm{p}}_{\mathrm{j}}6pj​ state. In a fraction of these atoms the inner electron decays radiatively to a ${5\mathrm{d}}_{\mathrm{j}\ensuremath{'}}$ metastable level. The obtained circular-metastable doubly excited atoms are very stable. For the (${5\mathrm{d}}_{3/2>}$21c) state the autoionization lifetime \ensuremath{\tau} is longer than 400 \ensuremath{\mu}s; for the (${5\mathrm{d}}_{5/2}$21c) state, \ensuremath{\tau}=1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2 \ensuremath{\mu}s. the specific role of the 5d electron is demonstrated. \textcopyright{} 1990 The American Physical Society