Submission Date

4-25-2016

Document Type

Paper

Department

Physics & Astronomy

Adviser

Thomas Carroll

Committee Member

Thomas Carroll

Committee Member

Douglas Nagy

Committee Member

Nicholas Scoville

Department Chair

Douglas Nagy

Project Description

Rydberg atoms are traditionally alkali metal atoms with their valence electron excited to a state of very large principle quantum number. They possess exaggerated properties, and are consequently an attractive area of study for physicists. An example of their exaggerated properties is seen in their response to the presence of an applied electric field. In this work, we study the energy distribution of Rydberg atoms when subjected to a dynamic electric field intended to ionize them.

We excite 85Rb atoms to a superposition of the 46D5/2 |mj| = 1/2 and |mj| = 3/2 states in the presence of a small initial electric field. After a delay time, the electric field is pulsed in order to ionize the atoms. The current produced by the ejected electrons is measured. Calculations and experimental data are presented which display interference effects between the amplitude from the components of the initial superposition.

Comments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1205897

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