title: High-angular-momentum states in cold Rydberg gases.
abstract: Cold, dense Rydberg gases produced in a cold-atom trap are investigated using spectroscopic methods and time-resolved electron counting. Optical excitation on the discrete Rydberg resonances reveals long-lasting electron emission from the Rydberg gas ( >20 ms). Our observations are explained by lm-mixing collisions between Rydberg atoms and slow electrons that lead to the population of long-lived high-angular-momentum Rydberg states. These atoms thermally ionize slowly and with large probabilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1120, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feldbaum
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walz-Flannigan
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Guest
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raithel