The Optimal Pair of Rydberg Alkali-Metal Atoms in the Nonsymmetric Penning Ionization Processes

Features of Penning ionization in cold gaseous media of Rydberg alkali-metal atoms have been investigated. In contrast to the hydrogen atom, the corresponding autoionization widths exhibit a strong (by orders of magnitude) dependence on the orbital quantum numbers of the atoms involved in the long-r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics and spectroscopy 2019-09, Vol.127 (3), p.375-384
Main Authors: Mazalam, Alaa, Michulis, K., Beterov, I. I., Bezuglov, N. N., Klyucharev, A. N., Ekers, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkali metals
Autoionization
Charged particles
Dependence
Dipole interactions
Free electrons
Ions
Lasers
Optical Devices
Optics
Penning ionization
Photonics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum numbers
Rate constants
Spectroscopy and Physics of Atoms and Molecules
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Summary:Features of Penning ionization in cold gaseous media of Rydberg alkali-metal atoms have been investigated. In contrast to the hydrogen atom, the corresponding autoionization widths exhibit a strong (by orders of magnitude) dependence on the orbital quantum numbers of the atoms involved in the long-range dipole–dipole interaction. An important feature of Penning ionization is the nontrivial dependence of its efficiency on the Rydberg particle size. For all types of alkali-metal atoms, the optimal highly nonsymmetric configurations of Rydberg pairs have been found that lead to the explosive (by several orders of magnitude) intensification of the free electron formation by means of the Penning ionization processes. This property makes Penning ionization an important means of forming primary charged particles during the cold Rydberg plasma formation. The numerical data for pairs of potassium atoms are reported that demonstrate a significant effect of the Förster resonance on the values of the Penning ionization rate constants.
ISSN:0030-400X
1562-6911
DOI:10.1134/S0030400X19090200