Two-photon ionization of cold rubidium atoms with a near resonant intermediate state
Year: 2004
Authors: Courtade E., Anderlini M., Ciampini D., Mueller J.H., Morsch O., Arimondo E., Aymar M., Robinson E.J.
Autors Affiliation: Univ Pisa, Dipartimento Fis E Fermi, INFM, I-56127 Pisa, Italy;
NYU, Dept Phys, New York, NY 10003 USA;
CNRS, Aime Cotton Lab, F-91405 Orsay, France
Abstract: By means of a simple theoretical model and experimental results, we analyse the two-photon ionization of cold rubidium atoms. We consider a two-step process in which ground state atoms are ionized by two blue (421 nm) photons, chosen to be quasi-resonant with the 5S –> 6P transition. We show that for a good description of the process we have to take into account not only the three states coupled by the laser radiation, but also all the atomic states involved in the spontaneous emission cascade from the 6P to the 5S state, since optical pumping from 5S(1/2) (F = 2) to the 5S(1/2) (F = 1) states modifies the ionization efficiency when ionizing near resonance. The experimental and theoretical determination of ionization cross sections for excitations near resonance with the 6P(1/2) and the 6P(3/2) intermediate levels is presented.
Journal/Review: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS B-ATOMIC MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS
Volume: 37 (5) Pages from: 967 to: 979
KeyWords: Ultra-cold atomsDOI: 10.1088/0953-4075/37/5/002ImpactFactor: 1.761Citations: 12data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-12-01References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click hereConnecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here