Rydberg atoms

The combined experimental and theoretical investigation of Dixon et al. [75] applied the H-atom Rydberg time-of-flight method to measure the translational energy distribution of H atoms from the photodissociation... 

Compared to the H-atom Rydberg tagging technique,65 the resolution of the present method is somewhat worse, by about a factor of two. This loss in resolution, however, is realized in general only for photodissociation studies. In a typical crossed beam experiment, the product translational energy resolution is usually limited by the energy spread of the initial collision energy rather than the detection scheme. On the other hand, the present... 

In this chapter, we will describe the most recent advances made in our laboratory on the unimolecular dissociation of the important H2O molecule as well as the bimolecular reactions, 0(1D) + H2 —> OH + H and H + HD — H2 + D, using the H-atom Rydberg tagging TOF technique. Through these studies, detailed dynamical information can be extracted experimentally for these important systems. 

Fig. 1. Detection schemes for H-atoms. Rydberg tagging technique is slightly different from the (1 + l )-REMPI detection scheme in which the H atom is directly ionized Rydberg tagging only pumps the H atom to a high Rydberg state.

Fig. 2. The H-atom Rydberg transition spectrum from the n = 2 level to the higher n states.

Rydberg series were detected in molecular spectra in the early 1930 s, notably by W. C. Price who showed that they arose from the outer electrons. These can usually be fairly well classified in terms of the structure of the molecule, e.g. non-bonding electrons on particular atoms or electrons of double bond systems. Non-bonding electrons give more nearly atomic Rydberg series, with many numbers observable, and correspondingly accurate ionization potentials have been recorded. Most of the earlier measurements belong to this class. 

In this chapter we have implicitly assumed the Rydberg atom to be a one electron-atom. In the perturbed Rydberg series of, for example, alkaline earth atoms, Rydberg states can have mixed valence-Rydberg character. In such states the black body effects are reduced by a factor equal to the fractional Rydberg character.14... 

It is interesting to note that the pressure broadening described here is in essence the non-resonant manifestation of the same interaction responsible for resonant Rydberg atom-Rydberg atom collisional energy transfer.37... 

The energy levels of atomic Rydberg states are described by a hydrogen-type formula ... 

Just about the time Rydberg composed his simple mathematical formula, he also discovered Balmer s paper on the spectrum of the hydrogen atom. Rydberg realized immediately that he could... 

Cold resonant Rydberg atom - Rydberg atom collisions... 

Nonadiabatic Charge Transfer, D. S. F. Crothers Atomic Rydberg States, Serve Feneuille and Pierre Jacquinoi... 

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