Localizing High-Lying Rydberg Wave Packets with Two-Color Laser Fields

Abstract

We demonstrate control over the localization of high-lying Rydberg wave packets in argon atoms with phase-locked orthogonally polarized two-color (OTC) laser fields. With a reaction microscope, we measured ionization signals of high-lying Rydberg states induced by a weak dc field and black-body radiation as a function of the relative phase between the two-color fields. We find that the dc-field ionization yields of high-lying Rydberg argon atoms oscillate with the relative two-color phase with a period of $2\pi$ while the photoionization signal by black-body radiation shows a period of $\pi$. These observations are a clear signature of the asymmetric localization of electrons recaptured into high-lying Rydberg states after conclusion of the laser pulse and are supported by a semiclassical simulation of argon-OTC laser interaction. Our findings thus open an effective pathway to control the localization of high-lying Rydberg wave packets.

References in corpus (11)

• Quantum information with Rydberg atoms
• Attosecond-recollision-controlled selective fragmentation of polyatomic molecules
• Streaking temporal double slit interference by an orthogonal two-color laser field
• Formation of very low energy states crossing the ionization threshold of argon atoms in strong mid-infrared fields
• Laser-sub-cycle two-dimensional electron momentum mapping using orthogonal two-color fields
• Two-Dimensional Attosecond Electron Wave Packet Interferometry
• Ionization of Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation
• Coincidence spectroscopy of high-lying Rydberg states produced in strong laser fields
• Rydberg atoms in astrophysics
• Dynamical characteristics of Rydberg electrons released by a weak electric field
• Real-time probing electron dynamics of an atom in a strong infrared laser field

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Controlling electron-electron correlation in frustrated double ionization of molecules with orthogonally polarized two-color laser fields
• Enhancing frustrated double ionisation with no electronic correlation in triatomic molecules using counter-rotating two-color circular laser fields
• Triple ionization and "frustrated" triple ionization in triatomic molecules driven by intense laser fields
• Laser-Induced Dissociative Recombination of Carbon Dioxide
• Frustrated Double Ionization of Argon Atoms in Strong Laser Fields