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Physical Review Letters

Interactions of Blackbody Radiation with Atoms

Thomas F. Gallagher, William E. Cooke

Published Mar 26, 1979• 275 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Blackbody radiation affects low-frequency (${h}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}\ensuremath{\ll}\mathrm{kT}$) atomic transitions both by inducing transitions and producing ac frequency shifts, important effects that have previously been ignored. Here we report the calculation and experimental observation of a manifestation of the former, the threefold reduction of the Na $\mathrm{np}$ radiative lifetimes by 300-K blackbody-radiation-induced stimulated emission and absorption. Estimates of ac frequency shifts for Rydberg and ground-state atoms are given.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.42.835

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arXiv:physics/0702192•Physical Review A•May 30, 2007•47 citations
Blackbody radiation affects low-frequency (h\ensuremathν\ensuremath≪kT{h}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}\ensuremath{\ll}\mathrm{kT}h\ensuremathν​\ensuremath≪kT) atomic transitions both by inducing transitions and producing ac frequency shifts, important effects that have previously been ignored. Here we report the calculation and experimental observation of a manifestation of the former, the threefold reduction of the Na np\mathrm{np}np radiative lifetimes by 300-K blackbody-radiation-induced stimulated emission and absorption. Estimates of ac frequency shifts for Rydberg and ground-state atoms are given.
Transitions between energetically close-lying Rydberg states are characterized by large electric dipole matrix elements and frequencies low enough that at room temperature the photon occupation number is \ensuremath{\simeq} 10. Consequently the absorption of blackbody radiation and the stimulated emission produced by it lead to an efficient redistribution of population among nearby levels. In some cases dramatic effects are observed, for example, radiative lifetimes that are shortened to a small fraction of their T=0T=0T=0 values. In addition, the 300-K blackbody field of \ensuremath{\sim}10 V/cm produces ac Stark shifts of the Rydberg levels. Calculations of the population redistribution effects and ac Stark shifts are presented. Examples are given to illustrate that care must be taken in experiments with highly excited atoms to ensure that only one state is being observed rather than a distribution.
Blackbody radiation is expected to produce a temperature-dependent Stark shift in atomic Rydberg states. Unfortunately, in "one-electron" atoms, all the Rydberg levels experience the same shift, and the effect is only observable on an optical transition from the ground state. However, in a many-electron atom the presence of valence-state perturbers leads to unequal shifts of the Rydberg levels. This should make it possible to observe the frequency shift of a transition between two neighboring Rydberg states at a frequency in the radio-frequency range. This eliminates the need for a very stable visible laser, which so far has been the major technical obstacle to the observation and utilization of the effect. We present as an example a specific case in Ba.
A highly excited (Rydberg) atom bathed in blackbody radiation is perturbed in two ways. A dynamic Stark shift is induced by the off-resonant components of the blackbody radiation. Additionally, electric-dipole transitions to other atomic energy levels are induced by the resonant components of the blackbody radiation. This depopulation effect shortens the Rydberg-state lifetime, thereby broadening the energy level. Calculations of these two effects in many states of hydrogen, helium, and the alkali-metal atoms Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs are presented for T=300T=300T=300 K. Contributions from the entire blackbody spectrum and from both discrete and continuous perturbing states are included. The accuracy is considerably greater than that of previous estimates.
We have studied ionization of alkali-metal Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR). The results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs Rydberg atoms are presented. The calculations have been performed for n S, n P and n D states for principal quantum numbers n =8–65 at ambient temperatures of 77, 300 and 600 K. The calculations take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of the measured ionization rates and their n dependence. A Cooper minimum for BBR-induced transitions between bound Rydberg states of Li has been found. The calculated ionization rates are compared with our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na n S and n D Rydberg states with n =8–20 at 300 K. Good agreement for all states except n S with n >15 is observed. Useful analytical formulae for quick estimates of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms are presented. Application of BBR-induced ionization signal to measurements of collisional ionization rates is demonstrated.
We have studied ionization of alkali-metal Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR). The results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs Rydberg atoms are presented. The calculations have been performed for nS, nP and nD states for principal quantum numbers n=8-65 at ambient temperatures of 77, 300 and 600 K. The calculations take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of the measured ionization rates and their n-dependence. A Cooper minimum for BBR-induced transitions between bound Rydberg states of Li has been found. The calculated ionization rates are compared with our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na nS and nD Rydberg states with n=8-20 at 300 K. A good agreement for all states except nS with n> 15 is observed. Useful analytical formulas for quick estimates of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms are presented. Application of BBR-induced ionization signal to
Results of theoretical calculations of ionization rates of Rb and Na Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation (BBR) are presented. Calculations have been performed for nSnSnS, nPnPnP, and nDnDnD states of Na and Rb, which are commonly used in a variety of experiments, at principal quantum numbers n=8−−65n=8--65n=8−−65 and at three ambient temperatures of 77, 300, and 600K600\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}600K. A peculiarity of our calculations is that we take into account the contributions of BBR-induced redistribution of population between Rydberg states prior to photoionization and field ionization by extraction electric field pulses. The obtained results show that these phenomena affect both the magnitude of measured ionization rates and shapes of their dependences on nnn. The calculated ionization rates are compared with the results of our earlier measurements of BBR-induced ionization rates of Na nSnSnS and nDnDnD Rydberg states with n=8−−20n=8--20n=8−−20 at 300K300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}300K. A good agreement for all states except nSnSnS with n>15n>15n>15 is observed. We also present the useful analytical formulas for the quick estimation of BBR ionization rates of Rydberg atoms.