title: Control of diabatic versus adiabatic field dissociation in a heavy Rydberg system.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Shiell
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reinhold
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Magnus
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ubachs