Multilevel effects on the balance of dipole-allowed to dipole-forbidden transitions in Rydberg atoms induced by a dipole interaction with slow charged projectiles
- Maritime College, State University of New York, 6 Pennyfield Avenue, Bronx, New York, 10465 (United States)
In collisions of Rydberg atoms with charged projectiles at velocities approximately matching the speed of the Rydberg electron {ital v}{sub {ital n}} (matching velocity), {ital n} being the principal quantum number of the Rydberg level, the dipole-forbidden transitions with large angular-momentum transfer {Delta}{ital l}{gt}1 substantially dominate over dipole-allowed transitions {Delta}{ital l}=1, although both are induced by the dipole interaction. Here it is shown that as the projectile velocity decreases the adiabatic character of the depopulation depends on the energy distribution of states in the vicinity of the initial level. If the spectrum is close to degeneracy (as for high-{ital l} levels) the dipole-forbidden depopulation prevails practically over the entire low-velocity region, down to velocities {approximately}{ital n}{sup 3}[{Delta}{ital E}/Ry]{ital v}{sub {ital n}}, where {Delta}{ital E} is the energy spacing adjoining to the level due to either a quantum defect or the relevant level width or splitting, whichever is greater. If the energy gaps are substantial (as for strongly nonhydrogenic {ital s} and {ital p} levels in alkali-metal atoms), then the fraction of dipole transitions in the total depopulation reaches a flat minimum just below the matching velocity and then grows again, making the progressively increasing contribution to the low-velocity depopulation. The analytic models based on the first-order Born amplitudes (rather than the two-level adiabatic approximation) furnish reasonable estimates of the fractional dipole-allowed and dipole-forbidden depopulations. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
- OSTI ID:
- 278514
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review A, Journal Name: Physical Review A Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 53; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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