The effects of 300 K background radiation on Rydberg atoms

Population Redistribution of Cold Rydberg Atoms

“…For nd → n ′ p transitions, most of the population is transferred to higher-n ′ levels, which is a similar situation to BBR-induced f → g transitions of Xe atoms mentioned in Ref. [13], whereas for nd → n ′ f most is transferred to lower-n ′ levels. Since the statistical weights in nd → n ′ p and nd → n ′ f transitions are same (nd 3/2 can transit to n ′ p 1/2 , n ′ p 3/2 , and n ′ f 5/2 states while np 5/2 to n ′ p 3/2 , n ′ f 5/2 , and n ′ f 7/2 states) and the excitation probabilities of 5p 3/2 → nd 3/2 and nd 5/2 are almost equivalent, the distribution of the transition probabilities of nd → n ′ p and nd → n ′ f in total can be considered as similar to Fig.…”

Natural radiative lifetimes in the perturbed 6snd 1 D 2 sequence of barium

“…The highly excited states investigated in the present work have long natural lifetimes and it is important to ensure measuring conditions where effects due to black-body radiation-induced transitions to closelying levels can be identified. As mentioned above, the problem with black-body perturbation effects has been recognized in several recent papers [16][17][18][19]. In our experiments employing the cooled beam enclosure described in Sect.…”

“…The strong green fluorescence from the first-step transition was blocked with a combination of interference-and Schott coloured-glass filters. In order to investigate possible influences of black-body radiation transitions leading to apparent shortened natural lifetimes [16][17][18][19] a special cooled enclosure for the atomic beam was utilized in some of the measurements. The arrangement is illustrated in Cooled atomic beam enclosure for studying perturbations due to black-body radiation through a circular opening in the enclosure, covered by a copper micro-mesh (Buckbee-Mears Co, 1000 wires/inch, transmission factor 58 ~o).…”

Coupled internal-state and center-of-mass dynamics of Rydberg atoms in a magnetic guide

“…Due to the long evolution time in our system and the fact that the guide operates at room temperature, the most important interaction of the Rydberg atoms is the interaction with background blackbody radiation [30][31][32]. Thermal transitions within the bound-state space of the Rydberg atoms cause a diffusionlike behavior in all quantum numbers, as well as thermal ionization.…”