Laser Physics
Pulse-duration dependence in the theory of interference stabilization of Rydberg atoms
С. М. Федоров, Olga V. Tikhonova, Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov
Abstract
The phenomenon of interference stabilization of Rydberg atoms is studied. The residual probability W res of finding an atom in bound (Rydberg) states and the threshold of stabilization V thr are calculated in their dependence on the pulse duration τ (for pulses with smooth envelopes). At τ longer than the Kepler period t K , both W res (τ) and V thr (τ) are shown to oscillate with approximately the Kepler period. At τ < t K (the case often referred to as transient stabilization), the threshold of stabilization V thr (τ) is shown to be a growing function of a decreasing pulse duration τ. Transient stabilization is shown to be explained by the same physical reasons as interference stabilization, and this implies that the concept of interference stabilization can be used in both limits of long and short pulses.