title: Controlling the angular momentum composition of a Rydberg electron wave packet.
abstract: Sequences of phase-locked laser pulses have been employed to control the orbital angular momentum character of an electron wave packet, which is initially created from a superposition of s and d Rydberg series. By an intelligent choice of phase, which depends on the excitation energy and the quantum defects, we are able to selectively pump down either all or a fraction of one or other angular momentum component, and by employing multichannel quantum-defect theory we are able to analyze the quantum-state distribution in detail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J R R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Verlet
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Stavros
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Minns
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Fielding