Bridget Ellen Tannian

Manipulation of atomic ell-state distributions using pulsed electric fields

A technique to manipulate the -state distribution of high-n Rydberg atoms is described that is based on the application of a large-amplitude rectangular electric field pulse whose rise and fall times are short compared to the classical electron orbital period and whose duration is comparable to the Stark period in the field. It is shown that by varying the duration (and/or amplitude) of this pulse, the final -state distribution can be controlled and that this distribution can be calculated reliably using classical trajectory Monte Carlo techniques.

Ionization of Rydberg atoms by half-cycle pulses: Effect of pulse shape and rise time

The ionization of potassium Rydberg atoms with by pulsed unidirectional electric fields, termed half-cycle pulses (HCPs), with various well characterized shapes (rectangular, triangular and sawtooth) and durations comparable to the classical electron orbital period is investigated. The experimental results are compared with classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) simulations and the classically scaled results of quantum calculations undertaken at n = 5. The data show that in the intermediate regime, , the threshold field for ionization becomes sensitive to the shape and rise time of the HCP, increasing with increasing rise time. For each pulse shape, the agreement between the experimental measurements and both the CTMC and quantum calculations is very good.