Control of diabatic versus adiabatic field dissociation in a heavy Rydberg system

R.C. Shiell, E.M. Reinhold, F. Magnus, W.M.G. Ubachs

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Abstract

A novel phenomenon is observed in the dynamics of laser-prepared coherent wave packets, bound by the Coulombic 1/r potential of an ion-pair system. After exciting weakly bound (3meV) H+F- wave packets in a Stark field, and permitting them to evolve in time, control of field dissociation via adiabatic and diabatic routes is demonstrated by applying delayed pulsed-electric fields, involving a zero-field crossing. Control manifests itself through the production of ions from each pathway at a different instant in time. This phenomenon is applied to map the oscillatory behavior of an angular momentum wave packet in a heavy Rydberg system. The characteristic frequencies of the observed Stark oscillations verify predicted mass-scaling laws for heavy Rydberg systems. © 2005 The American Physical Society.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)213002
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume95
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005

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