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The effects of weak electric fields on resonant energy transfer between NH3 in the X¹ A1 ground electronic state and Rydberg He atoms in triplet states with principal quantum numbers n = 36-41 have been studied in a crossed-beam apparatus. For these values of n, electric dipole transitions between the Rydberg states that evolve adiabatically to the | n s> and | n p> states in zero electric field can be tuned into resonance with the ground-state inversion transitions in NH3 using electric fields, with energy transfer occurring via Förster resonance. In the experiments the Rydberg He atoms, traveling in pulsed supersonic beams, were prepared by resonant two-photon excitation from the metastable 1s2s³S1 level and crossed an effusive beam of NH3 before being detected by state-selective pulsed-electric-field ionization. The resonant-energy-transfer process was identified by monitoring changes in the ionization signal from the | n s > and | n p > Rydberg states for each value of n. The electric-field dependence of the experimental data is in good agreement with the results of calculations in which the resonant dipole-dipole coupling between the collision partners was accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mean-field energy-level shifts arising as a result of strong electrostatic dipole interactions within dilute gases of polarized helium Rydberg atoms have been probed by microwave spectroscopy. The Rydberg states studied had principal quantum numbers n=70 and 72, and electric dipole moments of up to 14 050 D, and were prepared in pulsed supersonic beams at particle number densities on the order of 108 cm-3. Comparisons of the experimental data with the results of Monte Carlo calculations highlight effects of the distribution of nearest-neighbor spacings in the pulsed supersonic beams, and the dielectric properties of the strongly polarized Rydberg gases, on the microwave spectra. These observations reflect the emergence of macroscopic electrical properties of the atomic samples when strongly polarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helium atoms have been prepared in the circular |n=55,ℓ=54,mℓ=+54⟩ Rydberg state using the crossed electric and magnetic fields method. The atoms, initially traveling in pulsed supersonic beams, were photoexcited from the metastable 1s2s³S1 level to the outermost, mℓ=0 Rydberg-Stark state with n=55 in the presence of a strong electric field and weak perpendicular magnetic field. Following excitation, the electric field was adiabatically switched off causing the atoms to evolve into the circular state with mℓ=+54 defined with respect to the magnetic-field quantization axis. The circular states were detected by ramped electric-field ionization along the magnetic-field axis. The dependence of the circular state production efficiency on the strength of the excitation electric field, and the electric-field switch-off time was studied, and microwave spectroscopy of the circular-to-circular |55,54,+54⟩→|56,55,+55⟩ transition at ∼38.5 GHz was performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]