The Stark spectroscopy of the hydrogen atom has been investigated near the ionization threshold in static homogeneous external electric fields from \ensuremath{\sim}1000 to \ensuremath{\sim}8000 V/cm with use of a two-step excitation H(n=1)+\ensuremath{\Elzxh}${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathrm{vuv}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}$H(n=2)+\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\omega} $_{\mathrm{uv}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}$
H∗ with vuv and uv laser radiation, independently tunable and linearly polarized either parallel (\ensuremath{\pi}) or perpendicular (\ensuremath{\sigma}) with respect to the external field. Different from other, nonhydrogenic atoms, the hydrogen atom is a peculiar case insofar as the initial states of H(n=2), from which excitation takes place, are essentially of parabolic character at the field strengths employed in this study.Individual sublevels (
n1,
n2,\ensuremath{\Vert}
ml\ensuremath{\Vert}) have been prepared in the n=2 state with sub-Doppler resolution. Photoionization spectra have been obtained with \ensuremath{\pi}- and \ensuremath{\sigma}-polarized uv radiation from the four possible sublevels of the n=2 Stark manifold: \ensuremath{\Vert}1,0,0〉 \ensuremath{\Vert}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2〉, \ensuremath{\Vert}0,1,0〉 \ensuremath{\Vert}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2〉, \ensuremath{\Vert}0,0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1〉 \ensuremath{\Vert}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2〉, and \ensuremath{\Vert}0,0,\ensuremath{\mp}1〉 \ensuremath{\Vert}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2〉. All spectra show sharp line structures of quasistable field-ionizing states superimposed on continua in the energy region between the classical saddle point, ${E}_{\mathrm{SP}=\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\surd}}\mathrm{F}}$ a.u., and the zero-field ionization threshold E=0 a.u. Employing existing theoretical treatments, the quasistable spectral structures are quantitatively completely analyzed and accounted for, as long as their field ionization rate is less than \ensuremath{\sim}5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}
1011 ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. Field-ionization rates of quasistable states have been measured and are compared with theory. Oscillatory resonance structures of the ionization cross section near the zero-field threshold are observed with pronounced modulation degree only in the spectrum from the \ensuremath{\Vert}1,0,0〉 \ensuremath{\Vert}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1/2〉 sublevel excited with the uv \ensuremath{\pi}-polarized. The energy spacing of the oscillations has been measured as a function of the electric field strength F and found to be nearly proportional to
F3/4, with slight but definite deviations. Theoretical analysis of the oscillations yields quantitative agreement with the experiment.
General equations are presented for determining the field-dependent variation of the wavefunctions, matrix elements and intensities of dipole transitions between Stark levels of a hydrogen atom in a field range where the fine-structure effects may be neglected. The Sturm-series resolution for the reduced Coulomb-Green function is used to derive analytical expressions for the first-order corrections in terms of parabolic quantum numbers of initial and final states. Simple forms of these expressions as functions of the upper-state quantum numbers are presented explicitly for the Lyman and Balmer series. The selective action of the dc electric field on the intensity of Stark components of hydrogen lines is revealed in numerical calculations for both and types of emitted radiation. This selectivity may cause, in particular, enhancement of the high-frequency and damping of the low-frequency Stark -lines of the Lyman series.
Two synchronised pulsed single-mode tunable laser systems are used to excite atomic hydrogen in an atomic beam. A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) laser populates first the 2p 2 P 3/2 sublevel from the ground 1s 2 S 1/2 state. A second-step UV laser selects substates of the n=33 manifold in the presence of a weak electric field (23.6 V cm -1 ). Stark patterns of this manifold are recorded for different polarisation configurations of the exciting light beams. The n=44 substates are detected by the standard field ionisation technique. The measured relative intensities of the Stark components agree with the theoretical excitation probabilities in the two-step process, calculated to the first order of perturbation theory.
The excitation of metastable hydrogen towards the n = 4 Stark manifold is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The Stark Hamiltonian is diagonalized to obtain the energy levels, oscillator strengths and relaxation rates of the n = 2 and n = 4 Stark states. In a fast beam experiment, the transitions are excited by the blue line of a CW argon ion laser with appropriate Doppler detuning, and the measured transition frequencies agree well with the calculated values. The population of the 4s state, as measured by its fluorescence, is maximum for an electric field strength between 50 and 100 V cm/sup -1 /, and a laser polarization perpendicular to the static field.
Abstract We produce Rydberg Ps by a two-step laser excitation from and from to states of principal quantum level that are Stark split by a motionally induced electric field. Our measurements are largely free of first-order Doppler shifts such that we are able to investigate the impact of laser polarization on the population of the closely spaced Stark levels. We find a variation in the distribution that is primarily dependent on the IR laser polarization with respect to the direction of the motionally induced electric field. With the IR light polarized parallel to the electric field F , the ratio of excitation probability to the levels of maximal Stark splitting compared to that of excitation to the states of minimal Stark splitting is found to be 3.37 ± 0.51, whereas with the IR light polarized perpendicular to F , the excitation ratio is 0.87 ± 0.64. Our results agree with those of Wall et al (2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 173001 ) obtained with n = 11 and will be useful in the preparation of high- n states of Ps for a variety of experiments, including measuring the interaction of Ps with gravity, in precision time-of-flight (TOF) energy spectroscopy, and precision optical spectroscopy of Ps.
Singlet-triplet anticrossings of 1s3d Stark sublevels of He I were investigated by inducing resonance transitions from the 1s2p 3 P level to the 1s3d Stark states at electric fields 80 kV cm -1 <F z <100 kV cm -1 . The measurements were performed using a beam of metastable helium atoms perpendicular to a 588 nm laser beam from a tunable dye laser. From the energy separations of closest approach of four anticrossings we deduced the radial integrals h off 3p =(3660+or-200) MHz and h off 3d (652.6+or-1.0) MHz of the singlet-triplet off-diagonal matrix elements of the spin-orbit coupling for the 1s3p and 1s3d configurations. They agree with recently calculated values.