Ionization of Rydberg atoms at metallic surfaces: Influence of stray fields

Yu, Pu; Neufeld, Dennis; Dunning, F. B.

doi:10.1103/physreva.81.042904

Cited by 25 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Patch fields at smaller atom-surface separations have been investigated by studying the ionization of Rydberg atoms incident on the surface at near-grazing incidence in the presence of an ion collection field. Comparisons between theoretical predictions [15][16][17][18][19][20] and experimental measurements [21][22][23][24][25][26] have revealed the presence of strong local surface fields. Close to a conducting surface, ionization can occur through resonant tunneling of the excited electron into a vacant level in the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Ionization of Rydberg atoms at patterned electrode arrays

Dunning

2013

Phys. Rev. A

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Lithographically patterned micrometer-scale electrode arrays are used to examine the effects of controlled surface electric fields on Rydberg-atom-surface interactions. The data show that application of modest electrode biases (∼ ± 1 V) can lead to a transition from ionization of the incident atoms by short-range tunneling to field ionization well above the target surface. The resulting ions can be efficiently detected using ion collection fields whose strengths are substantially smaller than those required for direct field ionization pointing to the application of surface ionization in the detection of low-n Rydberg atoms. The data are analyzed with the aid of a Monte Carlo model and further demonstrate the critical role that local surface fields can play in governing the nature of atom-surface interactions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Ionization of Rydberg atoms at patterned electrode arrays

Dunning

2013

Phys. Rev. A

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“…This may occur because in most Rydberg systems an electron is promoted to a highly excited state, leaving the rest of the atom or molecule as a slow moving spectator, whereas in the case of Ps the electron and positron can both interact with external systems in similar ways. This may, for example, affect the way that Rydberg Ps atoms interact with surfaces [421][422][423][424]; such interactions can be exploited to study various processes, for example charge transfer [425][426][427] or measurements of electric fields [428,429], and may also be of relevance to possible Ps interferometry experiments.…”

Section: Excitation Of Rydberg Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may simply be because nobody has seen any reason to perform such an experiment. However, since Rydberg atoms are in general very sensitive to external fields and can easily be ionized [160,423,424], they may not be compatible with transmission through physical gratings. Possibly experiments have been tried that just did not work.…”

Section: Antimatter Gravity Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental progress in positronium laser physics

2018

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Abstract. The field of experimental positronium physics has advanced significantly in the last few decades, with new areas of research driven by the development of techniques for trapping and manipulating positrons using Surko-type buffer gas traps. Large numbers of positrons (typically ≥10 6 ) accumulated in such a device may be ejected all at once, so as to generate an intense pulse. Standard bunching techniques can produce pulses with ns (mm) temporal (spatial) beam profiles. These pulses can be converted into a dilute Ps gas in vacuum with densities on the order of 10 7 cm −3 which can be probed by standard ns pulsed laser systems. This allows for the efficient production of excited Ps states, including long-lived Rydberg states, which in turn facilitates numerous experimental programs, such as precision optical and microwave spectroscopy of Ps, the application of Stark deceleration methods to guide, decelerate and focus Rydberg Ps beams, and studies of the interactions of such beams with other atomic and molecular species. These methods are also applicable to antihydrogen production and spectroscopic studies of energy levels and resonances in positronium ions and molecules. A summary of recent progress in this area will be given, with the objective of providing an overview of the field as it currently exists, and a brief discussion of some future directions.

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“…In order to circumvent the adsorption of the atoms that are intended to be excited into a Rydberg state, elements can be chosen that are either less likely to react with the surface or less likely to deposit as irregular mounds of adsorbate; an obvious choice are rare-gas elements. In their subsequent experiments, Dunning and coworkers switched to the use of xenon in surface ionisation experiments with a Au(111) gold surface [30,[60][61][62].…”

Section: Ionisation In Grazing Incidence Beamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To conceptually grasp the magnitude of modulation and different domains of the surface potential Pu et al measured the surface potentials directly via Kelvin probe force microscopy [62]. When using the measured patch fields in trajectory simulations they are able to reproduce surface ionisation for xenon with high accuracy when using a simple over-the-barrier model.…”

Section: Stray Field Influences On Surface Ionisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of Rydberg atoms with surfaces

Kohlhoff

2016

Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top.

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Abstract. The interface of neutral Rydberg atoms in the gas phase with a solid surface is of interest in many fields of modern research. This interface poses a particular challenge for any application in which Rydberg atoms are close to a substrate but also opens up the possibility of studying properties of the surface material itself through the atomic response. In this review the focus is on the process of electron tunneling from the excited state into the substrate that occurs when a Rydberg atom is located in front of a surface at a range of a few hundred nm and is demonstrated with a metallic surface. It is shown how variations in this ionisation mechanism can provide a powerful tool to probe imagecharge effects, measure small superficial electric stray or patch fields and how charge transfer from the Rydberg atom can be in resonance with energetically discrete surface states. Rydberg atoms at surfaces and interfacesWhen atoms are excited into states of high principal quantum number n their properties are exaggerated and long-range interactions lead to a strong coupling with their environment. The electron cloud is greatly expanded compared to the ground state (∝ n 2 ) which results in a large polarisability of a Rydberg state (∝ n 7 ) causing a strong response to electric fields [1]. In terms of a classical dipole, the positive core and negative electron are widely separated giving these excited states a large dipole moment, by which Rydberg atoms exhibit interactions over great distances (∼ μm), where the interactions can be controlled externally. The range of exotic properties makes them an interesting subject in various fields of research, Rydberg atoms are used in cavity quantum electrodynamics [2,3], in controlled chemical reactions by mechanical manipulation [4], serve as a model system for dipole-mediated energy transport in biological systems [5], can be used as a non-linear medium to mediate single-photon interactions [6,7] and have been proposed in several ways for quantum information processing [9][10][11][12]. However, this also means that the strong interaction will not be limited to surrounding atoms but that they also couple to condensed matter, bulk surfaces, in the vicinity. See Fig. 1 for an overview of Rydberg-surface interactions.a

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Ionization of Rydberg atoms at metallic surfaces: Influence of stray fields

Cited by 25 publications

References 24 publications

Ionization of Rydberg atoms at patterned electrode arrays

Ionization of Rydberg atoms at patterned electrode arrays

Experimental progress in positronium laser physics

Interaction of Rydberg atoms with surfaces

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