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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference

Energy transfer collision in a sample of cold Rydberg atoms

Luís Gustavo Marcassa, K. M. F. Magalhães, R. Zanon, A.L. de Oliveira

Published May 12, 2000• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Summary form only given. Collisions with Rydberg atoms have been studied in depth both theoretically and experimentally in recent decades. One well-known collisional process involving two Rydberg atoms is called energy transfer collision, which has a unique characteristic, i.e., its cross-section can be tuned by a static electric field via the Stark effect. This collisional process has been studied with several alkalis, using thermal atoms deriving from an atomic beam. This thermal source, however, has some disadvantages. With the advent of the magneto-optical trap (MOT), cold samples of atoms can now be produced very simply. Several groups have recently succeeded in producing cold samples of Rydberg atoms in a MOT and have observed collisional processes. This achievement has opened up an entirely new field, in which several different experiments can be carried out. This paper reports, for the first time, on a time evolution experiment of energy transfer collisions using cold Rydberg atoms in a MOT.

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Summary form only given. In the late 1990s the idea of using trapped neutral atoms to produce cold Rydberg atoms has drawn special attention. Conventional techniques to study Rydberg atoms using thermal atoms have limitations imposed by velocity dependent and collisional effects. With the advent of the magneto-optical trap (MOT) cold samples of Rydberg atoms, which are naturally Doppler-free, can now be produced. In this work we present the measurement of /sup 80/Rb 27D Rydberg state by field ionization using trapped atoms.

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Summary form only given. Collisions with Rydberg atoms have been studied in depth both theoretically and experimentally in recent decades. One well-known collisional process involving two Rydberg atoms is called energy transfer collision, which has a unique characteristic, i.e., its cross-section can be tuned by a static electric field via the Stark effect. This collisional process has been studied with several alkalis, using thermal atoms deriving from an atomic beam. This thermal source, however, has some disadvantages. With the advent of the magneto-optical trap (MOT), cold samples of atoms can now be produced very simply. Several groups have recently succeeded in producing cold samples of Rydberg atoms in a MOT and have observed collisional processes. This achievement has opened up an entirely new field, in which several different experiments can be carried out. This paper reports, for the first time, on a time evolution experiment of energy transfer collisions using cold Rydberg atoms in a MOT.
In this work we probe the time dynamics of a collisional process involving energy transfer in a sample of cold Rydberg atoms produced in a rubidium magneto-optical trap. The 31S1/2{31S}_{1/2}31S1/2​ population, produced by collisions between the 29P3/2{29P}_{3/2}29P3/2​ and 29P1/2,3/2{29P}_{1/2,3/2}29P1/2,3/2​ states, is monitored as a function of time through the pulsed-field ionization technique. The experimental results were compared with a dynamic model based on a two-body interaction using a 1/R5{1/R}^{5}1/R5 potential. The model can reproduce well the time evolution of this collisional process. We are also able to explain the large electric-field range over which inelastic collisions are possible based on the existence of thresholds where collisional channels open and close.
In this work we measure the time evolution of the population resulting from energy-transfer collisions as a function of the energy difference between the entrance and exit collisional channels using a sample of cold Rydberg atoms produced in a rubidium magneto-optical trap. The 34S(1/2) population, produced by collisions between atoms in the 33P(3/2) state, is monitored as a function of time through the pulsed-field ionization technique. The experimental results are compared with a recent published model based on a two-body interaction considering an attractive potential [Phys. Rev. A 65, 023405 (2002)]]; which is calculated according to a recent Letter by Boisseau et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 133004 (2002)]]. The agreement is remarkable, which suggests the existence of such ultralong range potential proposed by Boisseau et al.
Resonant energy transfer collisions, those in which one atom or molecule transfers only internal energy, as oppposed to translational energy, to its collision partner require a precise match of the energy intervals in the two collision partners. Because of this energy specificity, resonant collisional energy transfer plays an important role in many laser applications, the He–Ne and CO 2 lasers being perhaps the best known examples. It is interesting to imagine an experiment in which we can tune the energy of the excited state of atom B through the energy of the excited state of atom A, as shown in Fig. 14.1. At resonance we would expect the cross section for collisionally transferring the energy from an excited A atom to a ground state B atom to increase sharply as shown in Fig. 14.1. In general, atomic and molecular energy levels are fixed, and the situation of Fig. 14.1 is impossible to realize. Nonetheless systematic studies of resonant energy transfer have been carried out by altering the collision partner, showing the importance of resonance in collisional energy transfer. The use of atomic Rydberg states, which have series of closely spaced levels, presents a natural opportunity for the study of resonant collisional energy transfer. One of the earliest experiments was the observation of resonant rotational to electronic energy transfer from NH 3 to Xe Rydberg atoms by Smith et al .
Abstract Supersonic beams of hydrogen atoms, prepared selectively in Rydberg–Stark states of principal quantum number n in the range between 25 and 35, have been deflected by 90 ◦ , decelerated and loaded into off-axis electric traps at initial densities of ≈ 10 6 atoms cm −3 and translational temperatures of 150 mK. The ability to confine the atoms spatially was exploited to study their decay by radiative and collisional processes. The evolution of the population of trapped atoms was measured for several milliseconds in dependence of the principal quantum number of the initially prepared states, the initial Rydberg-atom density in the trap, and the temperature of the environment of the trap, which could be varied between 7.5 and 300 K using a cryorefrigerator. At room temperature, the population of trapped Rydberg atoms was found to decay faster than expected on the basis of their natural lifetimes, primarily because of absorption and emission stimulated by the thermal radiation field. At the lowest temperatures investigated experimentally, the decay was found to be multiexponential, with an initial rate scaling as n − 4 and corresponding closely to the natural lifetimes of the initially prepared Rydberg–Stark states. The decay rate was found to continually decrease over time and to reach an almost n -independent rate of more than (1 ms) −1 after 3 ms. To analyze the experimentally observed decay of the populations of trapped atoms, numerical simulations were performed which included all radiative processes, i.e., spontaneous emission as well as absorption and emission stimulated by the thermal radiation. These simulations, however, systematically underestimated the population of trapped atoms observed after several milliseconds by almost two orders of magnitude, although they reliably predicted the decay rates of the remaining atoms in the trap. The calculations revealed that the atoms that remain in the trap for the longest times have larger absolute values of the magnetic quantum number m than the optically prepared Rydberg–Stark states, and this observation led to the conclusion that a much more efficient mechanism than a purely radiative one must exist to induce transitions to Rydberg–Stark states of higher ∣ m ∣ values. While searching for such a mechanism, we discovered that resonant dipole–dipole collisions between Rydberg atoms in the trap represent an extremely efficient way of inducing transitions to states of higher ∣ m ∣ values. The efficiency of the mechanism is a consequence of the almost perfectly linear nature of the Stark effect at the moderate field strengths used to trap the atoms, which permits cascades of transitions between entire networks of near-degenerate Rydberg-atom-pair states. To include such cascades of resonant dipole–dipole transitions in the numerical simulations, we have generalized the two-state Förster-type collision model used to describe resonant collisions in ultracold Rydberg gases to a multi-state situation. It is only when considering the combined effects of collisional and radiative processes that the observed decay of the population of Rydberg atoms in the trap could be satisfactorily reproduced for all n values studied experimentally.
We have studied the development of gases of ultra-cold Rydberg atoms in Magneto Optic Traps, and discovered that such gases exhibit a range of density-dependent phenomena. In particular, we have found that at the densities of ∼ 10 7 cm -3 the Rydberg atoms spontaneously evolve into long-lived high angular momentum states. These states slowly decay due to microwave background radiation over tens of milliseconds. We have numerically simulated the effects leading to such behavior, and investigated numerically the l- and n-mixing collisions of Rydberg atoms with electrons in the range of 10 meV. These calculations show that the l- and n-mixing cross-sections follow the n 5 scaling law, expected from simple Stark map considerations, but also depend on the velocities of the colliding electrons, reflecting the adiabaticity of the atom-electron interactions. We have developed a novel technique of measuring the electric fields inside plasmas by using Rydberg excitation spectroscopy of embedded atoms, based on the disappearance of regions of zero oscillator strength in the presence of such fields. We have applied this technique to study the evolution of ultra-cold non-neutral plasmas excited from the MOT, and have found that it expands over 1 mus. We have simulated such an expansion by considering only Coulomb repulsion between the constituent ions, and have found that such a model is consistent with the experimental observations.
Summary form only given. In the late 1990s the idea of using trapped neutral atoms to produce cold Rydberg atoms has drawn special attention. Conventional techniques to study Rydberg atoms using thermal atoms have limitations imposed by velocity dependent and collisional effects. With the advent of the magneto-optical trap (MOT) cold samples of Rydberg atoms, which are naturally Doppler-free, can now be produced. In this work we present the measurement of /sup 80/Rb 27D Rydberg state by field ionization using trapped atoms.