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Applied Physics Letters

The detection of 300 °K blackbody radiation with Rydberg atoms

Thomas F. Gallagher, William E. Cooke

Published Mar 15, 1979• 26 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Using selective field ionization (SFI) of Na Rydberg atoms we have detected the 300 °K blackbody radiation which induces the Na transitions 17s→17p, 18s→18p, 17d→18p, and 17d→18f frequencies of 27.3, 22.8, 7.4, and 41.6 cm−1, respectively. Investigation of the probable collisional effects show that they are negligible at 300 °K and allow us to project temperatures of <25 °K for Rydberg-atom long-wave detectors.

DOI
10.1063/1.90792

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Collisional and thermal ionization of sodium n S and n D Rydberg atoms with n = 8–20 has been studied. The experiments were performed using a two-step pulsed laser excitation in an effusive atomic beam at atom density of about 2 × 10 10 cm −3 . Molecular and atomic ions from associative, Penning and thermal ionization processes were detected. It was found that the atomic ions were created mainly due to photoionization of Rydberg atoms by photons of blackbody radiation at the ambient temperature of 300 K. Blackbody ionization rates and effective lifetimes of Rydberg states of interest were determined. The molecular ions were found to be from associative ionization in Na( nL ) + Na(3S) collisions. Rate constants of associative ionization have been measured using an original method based on relative measurements of Na + 2 and Na + ion signals.