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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 95 » Issue 25
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 253005 (2005) [4 pages]

Landau Quantization and Time Dependence in the Ionization of Cold, Strongly Magnetized Rydberg Atoms

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J.-H. Choi, J. R. Guest*, E. Hansis†, A. P. Povilus, and G. Raithel
FOCUS Center, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA

Received 16 May 2005; published 15 December 2005

The electric-field-ionization and autoionization behavior of cold Rydberg atoms of 85Rb in magnetic fields up to 6 T is investigated. Multiple ionization potentials and field-ionization bands reflecting the Landau energy quantization of the quasifree Rydberg electron are observed. The time-resolved and state-selective field-ionization study provides evidence of m mixing and spin flips of the Rydberg electron. Spin-orbit coupling combined with m mixing gives rise to a Feshbach-type autoionization of metastable positive-energy atoms.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.253005
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.253005
PACS:
32.80.Rm, 32.30.−r, 32.60.+i, 32.80.Dz

*Present address: Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA.

†Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany.

 
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