A fresh look at 3D microwave ionization curves of hydrogen Rydberg atoms

Quantum control of the pathway along which a Rydberg electron field ionizes is experimentally and computationally demonstrated. Selective field ionization is typically done with a slowly rising electric field pulse. The $(1/n^*)^4$ scaling of the classical ionization threshold leads to a rough mapping between arrival time of the electron signal and principal quantum number of the Rydberg electron. This is complicated by the many avoided level crossings that the electron must ...

A simple theory of the Rydberg atoms ionisation by electromagnetic pulses and microwave field is presented. The analysis is based on the scale transformation which reduces the number of parameters and reveals the functional dependencies of the processes. It is shown that the observed ionisation of Rydberg atoms by subpicosecond electromagnetic pulses scale classically. The threshold electric field required to ionise a Rydberg state may be simply evaluated in the photonic basi...

We study the time dependence of the ionization probability of Rydberg atoms driven by a microwave field, both in classical and in quantum mechanics. The quantum survival probability follows the classical one up to the Heisenberg time and then decays algebraically as P(t) ~ 1/t. This decay law derives from the exponentially long times required to escape from some region of the phase space, due to tunneling and localization effects. We also provide parameter values which should...

We investigate the Rydberg states generation of Hydrogen atoms with intense laser pulses, by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation and by means of classical trajectory monte-carlo simulations. Both linearly polarized multi-cycle pulses and pairs of optical half cycle pulses are used. Comparisons between these methods show that both the Coulomb force and initial lateral momentum, which have effects on the $n$-distribution and $l$-distribution of the population of e...

We study the time dependence of the ionization probability of Rydberg atoms driven by a microwave field. The quantum survival probability follows the classical one up to the Heisenberg time and then decays inversely proportional to time, due to tunneling and localization effects. We provide parameter values which should allow one to observe such decay in laboratory experiments. Relations to the $1/f$ noise are also discussed.

The strong interaction between individual Rydberg atoms provides a powerful tool exploited in an ever-growing range of applications in quantum information science, quantum simulation, and ultracold chemistry. One hallmark of the Rydberg interaction is that both its strength and angular dependence can be fine-tuned with great flexibility by choosing appropriate Rydberg states and applying external electric and magnetic fields. More and more experiments are probing this interac...

We show that dynamical localization for excited hydrogen atoms in magnetic and microwave fields takes place at quite low microwave frequency much lower than the Kepler frequency. The estimates of localization length are given for different parameter regimes, showing that the quantum delocalization border drops significantly as compared to the case of zero magnetic field. This opens up broad possibilities for laboratory investigations.

We show that combination of a linearly polarized resonant microwave field and a parallel static electric field may be used to create a non-dispersive electronic wavepacket in Rydberg atoms. The static electric field allows for manipulation of the shape of the elliptical trajectory the wavepacket is propagating on. Exact quantum numerical calculations for realistic experimental parameters show that the wavepacket evolving on a linear orbit can be very easily prepared in a labo...

When atoms are exposed to intense laser or microwave pulses ~10% of the atoms are found in Rydberg states subsequent to the pulse, even if it is far more intense than required for static field ionization. The optical spectra of the surviving Li atoms in the presence of a 38 GHz microwave field suggest how atoms survive an intense pulse. The spectra exhibit a periodic train of peaks 38 GHz apart. One peak is just below the limit, and with a 90 V/cm field amplitude the train ex...

This article presents a review of the most recent theoretical and experimental results in hydrogen. We particularly emphasize the methods used to deduce the Rydberg constant $R_\infty$ and we consider the prospects for future improvements in the precision of $R_\infty$.