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Springer proceedings in physics

Production of Atomic Rydberg States in Optical Collisions

Charles E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, W. P. Garver, Jacob J. Leventhal, J. D. Kelley

Published Jan 1, 1987• 0 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1007/978-3-642-71778-9_29

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Highly excited (Rydberg) atoms are produced and can exist for significant periods of time in various plasma environments. It is necessary to know cross sections for the various collision processes involving these atoms if a complete understanding of the physics of these environments is to be attained.\nThe experimental investigation of collisional phenomena between high Rydberg sodium atoms and electrons is described in this thesis. A fraction of the atoms in a ground state sodium beam is optically excited (using lasers) to well-defined, high Rydberg states (principal quantum numbers chosen around 40). Subsequent to their production the Rydberg atoms are allowed to interact with 25 eV electrons for a specified time interval following which the collision products are detected. The electrons are produced in a beam which is crossed at right angles with the sodium beam. Important collision processes are (1) electron impact ionization of the Rydberg atom, and (2) electron-Rydberg atom interactions in which the quantum state of the atom is changed (state changing collisions).\nResults are presented for an observed state changing process which is identified as angular momentum state changing only (no change in the value of the principal quantum number). Cross sections for this process are measured to be 10('-10) to 10('-9) cm('2). Problems encountered during the work which prevented the measurement of electron impact ionization cross sections are discussed. In the course of the work two other topics required study: (1) the process of electric field ionization of Rydberg atoms (used to detect the atoms), and (2) the effects of background (300 K) radiation (from the chamber walls, for example) on Rydberg atoms. Results of these studies are also presented.

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Within a dense environment (ρ ≈ 10 14 atoms=cm 3 ) at ultracold temperatures (T < 1 μK), a single atom excited to a Rydberg state acts as a reaction center for surrounding neutral atoms.At these temperatures, almost all neutral atoms within the Rydberg orbit are bound to the Rydberg core and interact with the Rydberg atom.We have studied the reaction rate and products for nS 87 Rb Rydberg states, and we mainly observe a state change of the Rydberg electron to a high orbital angular momentum l, with the released energy being converted into kinetic energy of the Rydberg atom.Unexpectedly, the measurements show a threshold behavior at n ≈ 100 for the inelastic collision time leading to increased lifetimes of the Rydberg state independent of the densities investigated.Even at very high densities (ρ ≈ 4.8 × 10 14 cm -3 ), the lifetime of a Rydberg atom exceeds 10 μs at n > 140 compared to 1 μs at n ¼ 90.In addition, a second observed reaction mechanism, namely, Rb þ 2 molecule formation, was studied.Both reaction products are equally probable for n ¼ 40, but the fraction of Rb þ 2 created drops to below 10% for n ≥ 90.

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Highly excited (Rydberg) atoms are produced and can exist for significant periods of time in various plasma environments. It is necessary to know cross sections for the various collision processes involving these atoms if a complete understanding of the physics of these environments is to be attained.\nThe experimental investigation of collisional phenomena between high Rydberg sodium atoms and electrons is described in this thesis. A fraction of the atoms in a ground state sodium beam is optically excited (using lasers) to well-defined, high Rydberg states (principal quantum numbers chosen around 40). Subsequent to their production the Rydberg atoms are allowed to interact with 25 eV electrons for a specified time interval following which the collision products are detected. The electrons are produced in a beam which is crossed at right angles with the sodium beam. Important collision processes are (1) electron impact ionization of the Rydberg atom, and (2) electron-Rydberg atom interactions in which the quantum state of the atom is changed (state changing collisions).\nResults are presented for an observed state changing process which is identified as angular momentum state changing only (no change in the value of the principal quantum number). Cross sections for this process are measured to be 10('-10) to 10('-9) cm('2). Problems encountered during the work which prevented the measurement of electron impact ionization cross sections are discussed. In the course of the work two other topics required study: (1) the process of electric field ionization of Rydberg atoms (used to detect the atoms), and (2) the effects of background (300 K) radiation (from the chamber walls, for example) on Rydberg atoms. Results of these studies are also presented.
Collisions between atoms in high Rydberg states and polar targets can lead to the formation of dipole-bound negative ions. We examine the dynamics of CH3CN- ion production through electron transfer in K(np)/CH3CN collisions using velocity selected Rydberg atoms. The CH3CN- ion formation rate decreases markedly with decreasing Rydberg atom velocity, principally as a consequence of postattachment electrostatic interactions between the product ions. Implemented using Monte Carlo techniques, a curve-crossing model, which considers the effect of crossings between the diabetic potential curves for the covalent K(np)/CH3CN system and the K+/CH3CN - system, provides a clear explanation of several characteristics seen in electron transfer in K(np)/CH3CN collisions including: the n dependence in the CH3CN- ion production rate, the velocity dependence in the CH3CN- ion production rate, and the relatively small rate constant ∼0.5 - 1.0 x 10-8cm3 s-1 for production of long-lived CH3CN - ions.
Within a dense environment (ρ ≈ 10 14 atoms=cm 3 ) at ultracold temperatures (T < 1 μK), a single atom excited to a Rydberg state acts as a reaction center for surrounding neutral atoms.At these temperatures, almost all neutral atoms within the Rydberg orbit are bound to the Rydberg core and interact with the Rydberg atom.We have studied the reaction rate and products for nS 87 Rb Rydberg states, and we mainly observe a state change of the Rydberg electron to a high orbital angular momentum l, with the released energy being converted into kinetic energy of the Rydberg atom.Unexpectedly, the measurements show a threshold behavior at n ≈ 100 for the inelastic collision time leading to increased lifetimes of the Rydberg state independent of the densities investigated.Even at very high densities (ρ ≈ 4.8 × 10 14 cm -3 ), the lifetime of a Rydberg atom exceeds 10 μs at n > 140 compared to 1 μs at n ¼ 90.In addition, a second observed reaction mechanism, namely, Rb þ 2 molecule formation, was studied.Both reaction products are equally probable for n ¼ 40, but the fraction of Rb þ 2 created drops to below 10% for n ≥ 90.