2016/03/01 by S. D. Hogan, Stephen D. Hogan
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Atoms in molecules #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Dipole #Electric field #Excited state #Ion #Ionization #Kinetic energy #Molecule #Physics #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum mechanics #Rydberg atom #Rydberg formula #Stark effect #Trapping #physics.atom-ph #physics.chem-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1140/epjti/s40485-015-0028-4
published as EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation, 3, 1 (2016) · 53 page review, 34 figures
openalex publication_date 2016/03/01 · arxiv created 2016/03/14 · arxiv updated 2016/03/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The large electric dipole moments associated with highly excited Rydberg states of atoms and molecules make gas-phase samples in these states very well suited to deceleration and trapping using inhomogeneous electric fields. The methods of Rydberg-Stark deceleration with which this can be achieved are reviewed here. Using these techniques, the longitudinal motion of beams of atoms and molecules moving at speeds as high as 2500 m/s have been manipulated, with changes in kinetic energy of up to |Δ E kin|=1.3×10−20 J (|Δ E kin|/e=80 meV or |Δ E kin|/h c=650 cm −1) achieved, while decelerated and trapped samples with number densities of 106– 107 cm −3 and translational temperatures of ∼150 mK have been prepared. Applications of these samples in areas of research at the interface between physics and physical chemistry are discussed.