M. Ciocca

State mixing in collisions involving highly excited barium atoms

Using two‐step laser excitation it is shown that the state distributions of highly excited barium atoms are substantially altered by inelastic collisions with barium atoms. For ‘‘pure’’ Rydberg states the initially produced ns or nd eigenstates are rapidly mixed with nearly degenerate n‘l’ states. For initially produced states that may be viewed as admixtures of Rydberg and doubly excited independent electron eigenstates, collisions convert the distribution to one with nearly pure, albeit state‐mixed, Rydberg character. Broadening of the absorption profiles of the highly excited states is also observed.

Photoionization of Rydberg atoms very near threshold

Abstract Experiments in which photoionization of atoms in high-lying states is investigated are described. Some of the technical difficulties encountered and means of eliminating them are discussed. A method of diagnosing the presence of stray electric fields and of eliminating these fields is also presented.

Production of Atomic Rydberg States in Optical Collisions

The advent of tunable lasers has provided the means to study many processes of fundamental importance in atomic and molecular physics. Among the phenomena of current interest are “laser-assisted” or “laser-induced” collisional processes[1]. In this context these terms refer to processes which result in atomic or molecular final states that are only accessible to irradiated systems undergoing collisional interaction[2];

Precision Stark spectroscopy of sodium: Improved values for the ionization limit and bound states

X + Y + R\omega \to X* + Y.

Forbidden transitions to atomic Rydberg states in optical collisions.

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