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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Creation of non-dispersive Bohr-like wavepackets

J. J. Mestayer, B. Wyker, F. B. Dunning, S. Yoshida, Carlos O Reinhold, Joachim Burgdörfer

Published Nov 1, 2009• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The use of a periodic train of half-cycle pulses to maintain strongly-localized wavepackets in high-n (n ∼ 306) atoms that travel in near-circular orbits about the nucleus is demonstrated. The wavepacket is non-dispersive for hundreds of orbits and mimics the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom.
DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/194/3/032028

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We demonstrate the use of a periodic train of half-cycle pulses to maintain strongly-localized wave packets in very-high-nnn $(n\ensuremath{\sim}300)$ Rydberg atoms that travel in near-circular orbits about the nucleus. This motion can be followed for hundreds of orbital periods and mimics the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom which envisioned an electron in circular classical orbit about the nucleus.
We demonstrate a protocol to create localized wave packets in very-high-n Rydberg states which travel in nearly circular orbits around the nucleus. Although these wave packets slowly dephase and eventually lose their localization, their motion can be monitored over several orbital periods. These wave packets represent the closest analog yet achieved to the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, i.e., an electron in a circular classical orbit around the nucleus. The possible extension of the approach to create "planetary atoms" in highly correlated stable multiply excited states is discussed.
Localized wavepackets are created in high- n ( n ~ 300) Rydberg atoms which travel in near-circular orbits around the nucleus. Application of carefully tailored electric fields to quasi-1D Rydberg atoms creates coherent superpositions of Stark states with near extreme values of one of the components of the angular momentum. Half-cycle electric field pulses (HCPs) probe the dynamics of the circular states producing signature oscillations in survival probability that correspond to the expected wavepacket evolution. Although these wavepackets slowly dephase and lose their localization, their motion can be followed for several orbits and provides an analog of the original Bohr model, i.e., an electron in circular classical orbit around the nucleus. Measurements of the asymmetry in survival probability with increasing probe strength at different phases of the orbit confirm orbital motion of the wavepacket. Classical trajectory Monte-Carlo simulations (CTMC) agree with experimental results, and provide promising leads for future studies.
We demonstrate the experimental realization of Bohr-like atoms by applying a pulsed unidirectional field, termed a half-cycle pulse (HCP), to atoms in quasi-two-dimensional near-circular states. This leads to creation of localized wave packets that travel in near-circular orbits and mimic the dynamics of an electron in the original Bohr model of the hydrogen atom. This motion can be followed for several orbital periods before the localization of the wave packet is lost due to dephasing. We show, however, that localization can be recovered by application of further HCPs.
We describe how, almost 100 years after the introduction of the Bohr model of the atom, it is now possible using pulsed electric fields to create localized wavepackets in high n (n≈300) Rydberg atoms that travel in near-circular Bohr-like orbits mimicking the behavior of a classical electron. The protocols employed are explained with the aid of quantum and classical dynamics. Although many aspects of the underlying behavior can be described using classical arguments, purely quantum effects such as revivals can be seen even for n≈300.