Microwave Ionization of an Atomic Electron Wave Packet

Microwave ionization of an atomic electron wave packet.

A short microwave pulse is used to ionize a lithium Rydberg wave packet launched from the core at a well-defined phase of the field. We observe a strong dependence on the relative phase between the motion of the wave packet and the oscillations of the field. This phase dependent ionization is also studied as a function of the relative frequency. Our experimental observations are in good qualita...

Shaping an atomic electron wave packet.

We consider coherent control of the shape of an atomic electron's wavefunction using a train of short transform-limited laser pulses. This type of control is experimentally demonstrated by exciting with a train of three pulses and measuring the resulting quantum state distribution. We also present a general theory for control with a train of N pulses in the weak field limit and discuss the exte...

Excitation of a Three-Dimensionally Localized Atomic Electron Wave Packet

We have prepared an atomic electron in a three-dimensionally localized wave packet that travels along a highly eccentric orbit between the nucleus and a turning point approximately 1000 Å away. State preparation consisted of two distinct steps. First the electron wave function was localized to the desired orbit by exciting a stationary extreme Stark state from the n 30 manifold of a sodium atom...

Attosecond electron wave packet interferometry

Coherent imaging of an attosecond electron wave packet.

Electrons detached from atoms or molecules by photoionization carry information about the quantum state from which they originate, as well as the continuum states into which they are released. Generally, the photoelectron momentum distribution is composed of a coherent sum of angular momentum components, each with an amplitude and phase. Here we show, by using photoionization of neon, that a tr...