Control of diabatic versus adiabatic field dissociation in a heavy Rydberg system.
A novel phenomenon is observed in the dynamics of laser-prepared coherent wave packets, bound by the Coulombic 1/r potential of an ion-pair system. After exciting weakly bound (approximately 3 meV) H(+)(-) wave packets in a Stark field, and permitting them to evolve in time, control of field dissociation via adiabatic and diabatic routes is demonstrated by applying delayed pulsed-electric fields, involving a zero-field crossing. Control manifests itself through the production of ions from each pathway at a different instant in time. This phenomenon is applied to map the oscillatory behavior of an angular momentum wave packet in a heavy Rydberg system. The characteristic frequencies of the observed Stark oscillations verify predicted mass-scaling laws for heavy Rydberg systems.
Shiell
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RC
Physics Department, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada.
Reinhold
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E
Magnus
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Ubachs
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