Two-Frequency Microwave Quenching of Highly Excited Hydrogen Atoms

L. Moorman; E. J. Galvez; B. E. Sauer; A. Mortazawi-M; K. A. H. van Leeuwen; G. v. Oppen; P. M. Koch

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.771

Two-Frequency Microwave Quenching of Highly Excited Hydrogen Atoms

L. Moorman, E. J. Galvez, B. E. Sauer, A. Mortazawi-M., K. A. H. van Leeuwen, G. v. Oppen, and P. M. Koch

Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 771 – Published 15 August 1988

Abstract

We present the first experimental results of quenching (ionization) of $H (n_{0} = 43 - 49)$ atoms by a linearly polarized microwave electric field consisting of two frequencies (7.58 and 11.89 GHz). Adding a second frequency increases the quenching probability over that for only one frequency, especially where there is local stability at scaled frequencies near certain rational fractions, e.g., $n_{0}^{3} ω = \frac{1}{6} and \frac{1}{5}$ . Some, but not all, two-frequency quench curves display a rich structure that appears to be related to that observed in some single-frequency quench curves.

Received 7 December 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.771

Authors & Affiliations

L. Moorman¹, E. J. Galvez¹, B. E. Sauer¹, A. Mortazawi-M.^1,*, K. A. H. van Leeuwen^1,†, G. v. Oppen², and P. M. Koch¹

¹Physics Department, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York 11794
²Institut für Strahlen und Kernphysik, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany

^*Present address: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712.
^†Present address: Physics Department, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.