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X-Ray Spectrometry

Autoionization in the evolution process of dense Rb Rydberg atoms in n P states

Yufeng Li, Dongmei Zhao, X. Ma, J. Yang

Published May 22, 2019• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The autoionization mechanisms of dense n P 3/2 ( n = 20–97) Rydberg gases of 87 Rb atoms in the spontaneous evolution were investigated for the first time. By observing the characteristic time of the electrons generated through autoionization process, the dependence of autoionization mechanisms (black‐body radiation, electron–Rydberg collision, and Penning ionization) on the principal quantum number n of initial n P states was demonstrated. The dependence on the number n in n P Rydberg atoms is similar to those in n D Rydberg atoms.

DOI
10.1002/xrs.3069

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•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations
The autoionization mechanisms of dense n P 3/2 ( n = 20–97) Rydberg gases of 87 Rb atoms in the spontaneous evolution were investigated for the first time. By observing the characteristic time of the electrons generated through autoionization process, the dependence of autoionization mechanisms (black‐body radiation, electron–Rydberg collision, and Penning ionization) on the principal quantum number n of initial n P states was demonstrated. The dependence on the number n in n P Rydberg atoms is similar to those in n D Rydberg atoms.
We present the observation of an autoionization of cesium 37D5/2 Rydberg atoms in ultracold gases and analyze the autoionization mechanism. The autoionization process is investigated by varying the delay time tD and Rydberg atomic density. The dependence of ionization signals on Rydberg density shows that the Rydberg density has an effect on not only the initial ion signals but also the evolution of the Rydberg atoms. The results reveal that the initial ionization of 37D5/2 Rydberg atoms is mostly attributed to the blackbody radiation (BBR)-induced photoionization, and the BBR-induced transitions to the nearby Rydberg states that lead to further ionization. Our work plays a significant role in investigating the collision between Rydberg atoms and many-body physics.
Dense samples of cold Rydberg atoms have previously been observed to spontaneously evolve to a plasma, despite the fact that each atom may be bound by as much as $100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Initially, ionization is caused by blackbody photoionization and Rydberg-Rydberg collisions. After the first electrons leave the interaction region, the net positive charge traps subsequent electrons. As a result, rapid ionization starts to occur after $1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ caused by electron-Rydberg collisions. The resulting cold plasma expands slowly and persists for tens of microseconds. While the initial report on this process identified the key issues described above, it failed to resolve one key aspect of the evolution process. Specifically, redistribution of population to Rydberg states other than the one initially populated was not observed, a necessary mechanism to maintain the energy balance in the system. Here we report new and expanded observations showing such redistribution and confirming theoretical predictions concerning the evolution to a plasma. These measurements also indicate that, for high nnn states of purely cold Rydberg samples, the initial ionization process which leads to electron trapping is one involving the interactions between Rydberg atoms.
Abstract We consider Penning ionization of Rydberg atom pairs as an Auger-type process induced by the dipole–dipole interaction and employ semiclassical formulae for dipole transitions to calculate the autoionization width as a function of the principal quantum numbers, n d , n i , of both atoms. While for symmetric atom pairs with n d = n i = n 0 the well-known increase of the autoionization width with increasing n 0 is obtained, the result for asymmetric pairs is counterintuitive—for a fixed n i of the ionizing atom of the pair, the autoionization width strongly increases with decreasing n d of the de-excited atom. For H Rydberg atoms this increase reaches two orders of magnitude at the maximum of the n d dependence, and the same type of counterintuitive behavior is exhibited also by Na, Rb and Cs atoms. This is a purely quantum-mechanical effect, which points towards existence of optimal (we call them ‘Tom’ and ‘Jerry’ for ‘big’ and ‘small’) pairs of Rydberg atoms with respect to autoionization efficiency. Building on the model of population redistribution in cold Rydberg gases proposed in [1], we demonstrate that population evolution following the initial laser excitation of Rydberg atoms in state n 0 would eventually lead to the formation of such Tom–Jerry pairs with n i > n 0 > n d which feature autoionization widths that are enhanced by several orders of magnitude compared to that of two atoms in the initial laser-excited state n 0 . We also show that in the high-density regime of cold Rydberg gas experiments the ionization rate of Tom–Jerry pairs can be substantially larger than the blackbody radiation-induced photoionization rate.
We have considered two types of interactions between particles resulting in autoionization of the intermediate Rydberg collisional complex.The first type is caused by the charge exchange processes inside the ionic core of the complex and is responsible for the formation of the final associative ionization channel due to the departure of a Rydberg electron (RE) of the complex to the energy continuum.We have investigated the evolution of the orbital momentum L of RE and discovered a non-trivial time dependence of L, demonstrating a contrasting oscillatory structure in both direction orientation and its absolute value.The second type of interaction, dipole-dipole interaction, dominates in cold highly excited gaseous media and leads to Penning ionization of various pairs of Rydberg atoms.We have found the optimal quantum configurations of atomic pairs, which intensify the PI rates by several orders of magnitude, and become important suppliers of charged particles upon the evolution of Rydberg gas into cold plasma.
The spontaneous evolution from ultracold Rydberg atoms to plasma is investigated in a caesium MOT by using the method of field ionization. The plasma transferred from atoms in different Rydberg states ( n = 22-32) are obtained experimentally. Dependence of the threshold time of evolving to plasma and the threshold number of initial Rydberg atoms on the principal quantum number of initial Rydberg states is studied. The experimental results are in agreement with hot-cold Rydberg–Rydberg atom collision ionization theory.
We study a supersonic beam of cold, dense, xenon Rydberg atoms as it evolves to an ultracold plasma. At early times, while the free electron density is low, d-series Rydbergs atoms undergo long-range ℓ-mixing collisions producing states of high orbital angular momentum. These high-ℓ states drive dipole-dipole interactions where Penning ionization provides a seed of electrons in a cloud of Rydberg atoms excited into the 51d state. The electron density increases and reaches the threshold for avalanche into plasma at 25 μs. After 90 μs the plasma becomes fully formed developing rigidity to a 432 V/cm ionizing field as well as sensitivity to a weak 500 mV/cm field. A shell model was developed to understand the dynamics behind this process. In addition, in collaboration with the Weidemüller group, a model was developed using Penning ionization to seed the spontaneous avalanche of a cloud of strongly blockaded Rydberg atoms in a MOT.