Suppression of Excitation and Spectral Broadening Induced by Interactions in a Cold Gas of Rydberg Atoms

We report on the observation of ultralong range interactions in a gas of cold Rubidium Rydberg atoms. The van-der-Waals interaction between a pair of Rydberg atoms separated as far as 100,000 Bohr radii features two important effects: Spectral broadening of the resonance lines and suppression of excitation with increasing density. The density dependence of these effects is investigated in detail for the S- and P- Rydberg states with main quantum numbers n ~ 60 and n ~ 80 excited by narrow-band continuous-wave laser light. The density-dependent suppression of excitation can be interpreted as the onset of an interaction-induced local blockade

Modeling many-particle mechanical effects of an interacting Rydberg gas

In a recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 023004 (2007)] we have investigated the influence of attractive van der Waals interaction on the pair distribution and Penning ionization dynamics of ultracold Rydberg gases. Here we extend this description to atoms initially prepared in Rydberg states exhibiting repulsive interaction. We present calculations based on a Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate the dynamics of many atoms under the influence of both repulsive and attractive longrange interatomic forces. Redistribution to nearby states induced by black body radiation is taken into account, changing the effective interaction potentials. The model agrees with experimental observations, where the ionization rate is found to increase when the excitation laser is blue-detuned from the atomic resonance

Temporal Effects in Multiphoton Ionization of Lithium

The temporal effects of multiphoton ionization are investigated using a two-color method which determines both the time and intensity at which the process occurs. We show that the total ionization efficiency depends strongly on the time at which an atom makes a transition to an excited state during an intense laser pulse. This result clearly shows that the ac-Stark-shifted bound-state resonances not only enhance the cross section for photoionization, but that the excited bound states provide temporary storage states for the atomic population during the photoionization process

Shear buckling of square perforated plates

The behavior of thin square perforated plates under the action of uniform shear deformation is studied experimentally and analytically using finite element analysis. Elastic Shear buckling strength is established as a function of the diameter of a round, centrally located hole in the plate. Post buckling behavior and the behavior of perforated plates with various ring stiffeners are also studied experimentally

Channel Closing in Multiphoton Ionization of Mg

Experimental data are presented showing the channel closing of four-photon ionization of Mg. It is shown that, for circularly polarized light, the ionization versus intensity spectra exhibit sharp breaks from the normal I4 intensity dependence at the critical intensity where the channel closing occurs. Above the critical intensity, the population of Rydberg states which survives the laser pulse is observed. The residual Rydberg population is found to be greatly reduced for linearly polarized light due to the relatively large probability of ionization of the low-angular-momentum Rydberg states. The data are in good agreement with a model which includes averaging over the spatial profile of the laser

Electric-Field Enhancement of Dielectronic Recombination from a Continuum of Finite Bandwidth

A small electric field is shown to increase the dielectronic recombination, via autoionizing Rydberg states, of an electron from a continuum of finite bandwidth. The continuum of finite bandwidth is a broad autoionizing state which is part of a series converging to a higher limit, and the field enhancement of the rate occurs because the field converts the nl Rydberg states to nk Stark states, increasing the number of contributing recombination paths. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of an isolated resonance approximation treatment and show clearly both the positive effect of Stark mixing and the negative effect of field ionization on dielectronic recombination

Floquet Description of Multiphoton Processes in Li

We have made several different types of measurements of the three-photon ionization of Li produced by 3-ps laser pulses and describe the results using a Floquet picture. Over the photon frequency range 15 000 to 15 800 cm-1, Li represents a strongly coupled three-state system with the 2s ground state coupled to the 2p and 3d states by one and two photons, respectively. Energy analysis of the photoelectrons allows the measurement of the intensity dependent shift of the 2s Floquet state during the laser pulse. The shift shows a strong frequency dependence that is not predicted by first-order perturbation theory. We have also measured the total ionization spectrum over several ranges of frequency, as well as the angular distribution of the ionization and the first above-threshold ionization peak for frequencies where the ground state is near resonance with the 4s and 4d excited states. Calculations based on the Floquet Hamiltonian indicate that all of these processes may be understood in terms of a Floquet description

Spatially Resolved Transitions to Autoionizing States

We have observed transitions to autoionizing states in Mg using two short optical pulses. Mg atoms are initially prepared in a high lying Rydberg wave packet with the first ps laser. A second ps laser is then used to excite the inner electron, producing an autoionizing state. The dependence of the transition probability on the delay between the two lasers shows that when the second laser is tuned away from the ionic resonance, the inner electron can make a transition only when the Rydberg wave packet is near the core

Landau-Zener Treatment of Intensity-Tuned Multiphoton Resonances of Potassium

When exposed to intense light of ~580 nm, the ground state of K shifts up in energy, passing through two photon resonances with Rydberg states, and finally crossing the two-photon ionization limit. We have used laser pulses of varying duration to study the nature of the population transfer from the ground state to the excited state due to the intensity-tuned resonances encountered during the rising edge of the pulse. A dynamic Floquet approach in which the resonances are treated as avoided crossings of the Floquet energy levels is used to model the population transfer and gives excellent agreement with the data. The model is extended into the strong-coupling regime where the ground state interacts with many excited states simultaneously, and we show that this model can be used to describe multiphoton ionization as a series of avoided crossings with the continuum