Measuring the Fr weak nuclear charge by observing a linear stark shift with small atomic samples

We study the chirality of ground-state alkali atoms in E and B fields, dressed with a circularly-polarized beam near-detuned ( less, similar1 GHz) from an E-field-assisted forbidden transition such as 7S-8S in Fr. We predict parity violating energy shifts of their sublevels, linear in E and the weak nuclear charge Q_(W). A dressing beam of 10 kW/cm(2) at 506 nm produces a shift of approximately 100 microHz at E=100 V/cm, B greater, similar50 mG which should be observable with approximately 10(4) Fr atoms confined in an optical dipole trap. We discuss optimal conditions, parameter reversals, and a calibration procedure to measure Q_(W)     

Accurate determination of the scattering length of metastable helium atoms using dark resonances between atoms and exotic molecules

We present a new measurement of the s-wave scattering length a of spin-polarized helium atoms in the 2(3)S1 metastable state. Using two-photon photoassociation spectroscopy and dark resonances, we measure the energy E(nu)=14= -91.35+/- 0.06 MHz of the least-bound state nu = 14 in the interaction potential of the two atoms. We deduce a value of a=7.512+/-0.005 nm, which is at least 100 times more precise than the best previous determinations and is in disagreement with some of them. This experiment also demonstrates the possibility to create exotic molecules binding two metastable atoms with a lifetime of the order of 1 micros.     

Collisions between metastable hydrogen atoms at thermal energies

The complex interaction potentials arising in the approach of two metastable hydrogen 2s atoms are calculated and the cross sections for ionization, excitation transfer, and elastic scattering are predicted. The measured cross section for associative ionization at E = 4.1 meV equals 2x10(-15) cm (2). We calculate a total ionization cross section of 2x10(-13) cm (2), varying as E(-2/3) at higher energies. Thus it appears that dissociative ionization is the major ionization channel. We find also that double excitation transfer into two excited H(2p) atoms is still more probable with the large cross section of 9x10(-12) cm (2) at E = 4.1 meV varying as E(-1/2) at higher energies. The detection of the resulting Lyman alpha photons would provide a diagnostic test of our predictions.     

Cavity induced shift and narrowing of the positronium Lyman-α transition

We report experiments in which the line shape of the Lyman-alpha (1S-2P) transition was measured for positronium (Ps) atoms both inside and outside a porous silica target. The energy interval ΔE for confined atoms was observed to be larger than that of free Ps by 1.26±0.06 meV. A configuration interaction calculation yields results that are consistent with our ～5 nm sample, and suggests that ΔE decreases dramatically for larger cavity diameters. The linewidth of the transition, (0.066±0.004) nm (FWHM), is about half of what one would expect for free Ps at room temperature due to the Dicke line narrowing effect of confinement. Such measurements can be used to determine void sizes in porous films and Ps dynamics therein, and elimination of the Doppler spread of atoms in a porous film could be useful for the efficient excitation of a Ps gas.     

Conversion processes in superheavy and giant atoms

Conversion of bound state electrons and internale ⁺,e ^?-pair creation in superheavy and giant atoms are investigated. We consider various nuclear transitions of multipolaritiesE0, EL andML (L≧1) in superheavy atoms with Z>109. We are concerned in particular with the pecularities of conversion processes in supercritical systems. Our theoretical studies are confronted with the prominent peak structures observed in positron spectra of very heavy collision systems.     

Adsorption and two-body recombination of atomic hydrogen on 3He-4He mixture films

We present the first systematic measurement of the binding energy E(a) of hydrogen atoms to the surface of saturated 3He- 4He mixture films at temperatures 70-400 mK. E(a) is found to decrease almost linearly from 1.14(1) K down to 0.39(1) K, when the population of the ground surface state of 3He grows from zero to 6x10(14) cm(-2), yielding the value 1.2(1)x10(-15) K cm(2) for the mean-field parameter of H- 3He interaction in 2D. Measuring by ESR the rate constants K(aa) and K(ab) for second-order recombination of hydrogen atoms in hyperfine states a and b, we find the ratio K(ab)/K(aa) to be independent of the 3He content and to grow with temperature.     

The \overline{\mbox{\sf P}}{\sf ANDA} detector at FAIR

Selected problems of collisional processes in exotic atoms are discussed. The emphasis is on the collisional effects in antiprotonic helium including formation of antiprotonic atoms, collisional quenching of hot and thermalized metastable antiprotonic helium, shift and broadening of E1 and M1 spectral lines.     

Optical lattice trapping of 199Hg and determination of the magic wavelength for the ultraviolet 1S(0)↔3P(0) clock transition

We report on the Lamb-Dicke spectroscopy of the doubly forbidden (6s(2))(1)S(0)?(6s6p)(3)P(0) transition in (199)Hg atoms confined to a vertical 1D optical lattice. With lattice trapping of ?10(3) atoms and a 265.6 nm probe laser linked to the LNE-SYRTE primary frequency reference we have determined the center frequency of the transition for a range of lattice wavelengths and at two lattice trap depths. We find the Stark-free (magic) wavelength to be 362.53(0.21) nm-essential knowledge for future use of this line in a clock with anticipated 10(-18) range accuracy. We also present evidence of the laser excitation of a Wannier-Stark ladder of states in a lattice of well depth 10E(R).     

Delocalized nature of the E'delta center in amorphous silicon dioxide

We report an experimental study by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of E(')(delta) point defect induced by gamma-ray irradiation in amorphous SiO2. We obtained an estimation of the intensity of the 10 mT doublet characterizing the EPR spectrum of such a defect arising from hyperfine interaction of the unpaired electron with a 29Si (I=1/2) nucleus. Moreover, determining the intensity ratio between this hyperfine doublet and the main resonance line of E(')(delta) center, we pointed out that the unpaired electron wave function of this center is actually delocalized over four nearly equivalent silicon atoms.     

Effect of substituents in benzoxazole derivatives of biphenyl on the optical properties and photostability of their thin films

We have studied the characteristic features of the luminescence of thin films, formed by deposition from solutions and thermal vacuum deposition (TVD), of 4,4′-bis[(E)-1-(1,3-benzoxazol-2-yl)-2-ethenyl]-2-fluorobiphenyl (BPh-1) and 4,4′-bis[(E)-1-(1,3-benzoxazol-2-yl)-2-ethenyl]-2,2′-difluorobiphenyl (BPh-2). We have established that fluorine atoms in the biphenyl moiety of the benzoxasole derivatives significantly improve the stability of the TVD films relative to oxidative aging compared with hexyloxy substituents. Irradiation with UV light stimulates quenching of luminescence and structuring of the TVD film of the difluoro-substituted derivative.     

Estimating the adsorption energy of element 113 on a gold surface

We report first-principle based studies of element 113 (E113) interactions with gold aimed primarily at estimating the adsorption energy in thermochromatographic experiments. The electronic structure of E113-Au _n systems was treated within the accurate shape-consistent small core relativistic pseudopotential framework at the level of non-collinear relativistic density functional theory (RDFT) with specially optimised Gaussian basis sets. We used gold clusters with up to 58 atoms to simulate the adsorption site on the stable Au(111) surface. Stabilization of the E113-Au _n binding energy and the net Bader charge of E113 and the neighboring Au atoms with respect to n indicated the cluster size used was appropriate. The resulting adsorption energy estimates lie within the 1.0–1.2 eV range, substantially lower than previously reported values.     

Efficiency in the loading of a sodium magneto-optical trap from alkali metal dispensers

We study the loading of sodium atoms into a magneto-optical trap from current-controlled sodium metal dispensers. Contrary to what was previously reported [V. Wippel, C. Binder, W. Huber, L. Windholz, M. Allegrini, F. Fuso, E. Arimondo, Eur. Phys. J. D 17 (2001) 285] we demonstrate a significantly higher number of trapped atoms that make Na dispensers a feasible source of atoms for cold-atom studies. The inherent rise in pressure that naturally arises from metal dispensers as they are heated to release atoms is partially controlled by placing the metal dispensers near the pumping port where an ion pump is connected. We also study the effects of placing the sodium dispensers at different distances from the main vacuum chamber where the atoms are trapped and the effectiveness of using a Zeeman slower to cool the atoms as they emerge from the dispensers. We observe trapping of up to 1.9 × 10⁸ atoms, which is significantly higher by almost three orders of magnitude than previously reported experiments.     

Ab initio study of the fcc-WC(1 0 0) surface and its interaction with cobalt monolayers

The WC(1 0 0) surface has been studied by using ab initio methods of the density functional theory and pseudopotentials. Calculations have shown that surface and undersurface atoms move from their bulk positions. Namely, carbon atoms moved outward, while tungsten atoms moved inward. Five geometric cases for Co/WC(1 0 0) system were compared: (A) Co atoms are above C atoms; (B) Co atoms are above W atoms; (C) Co atoms are in the four-fold sites above WC pairs; (D and E) Co atoms are above the W-W-C and C-C-W three-fold sites, respectively - and the (A) case has been found to be energetically preferable. In all cases, Co layers have been found to be ferromagnetic. The densities of states for the bulk fcc-WC, the WC(1 0 0) surface, and the WC/Co system were compared.     

Entanglement Transfer from Two-Mode Squeezed Vacuum State Field to Two Spatially Separated Atoms in Two-Photon Processes

We investigate the influence of the Stark shift on the entanglement transfer from the two-mode squeezed vacuum state field to two spatially separated atoms in two-photon processes. Our results show that the Stark shift plays an important role in such entanglement transfer. We find that when the Stark shift parameter r is small, the degree of entanglement between the two atoms increases with the increasing of the squeezing parameter ξ first, and after achieving its maximal value, the degree of entanglement will decrease to zero with the increasing of ξ; while for big r, E will increase with the increasing of ξ.     

Dynamic electron screening in nuclear and mesonic atom E1 transitions

Atomic electrons can influence the electromagnetic transition rates of nuclei and mesonic atoms. We examine this dynamic electron screening effect for E1 transitions. The screening factor is expressed in terms of the forward Rayleigh scattering amplitude, and, for easy computation, the photoelectric cross section. We find that the effect can be large for low-energy transitions, but such transitions are rare for nuclei. The effect on mesonic atom cascades is usually small, but can be quite significant for high-precision experiments and those which look at transitions from high initial n.     

高能238U离子辐照AlN 晶体薄膜的光学特性研究

通过傅里叶变换红外光谱、拉曼光谱和光致发光谱测试手段分析了由HIRFL 提供的高能238U离子辐照AlN 晶体薄膜的光学特性变化。辐照后出现了A1(To),A1(Lo),E1(To) 和E2 等声子振动吸收模式,并且辐照使其在样品近表面Al—N 等振动模式遭到破坏后悬空的Al— 键很快与空气中的O离子发生结合,形成了Al—O 键。综合分析得出了蓝光发射带是与O 离子相关的VAl-ON-3N 和VAl-2ON-2N两种类型缺陷以及F-型缺陷聚合所致;绿光发射带是由基底中Al 原子产生的价带之间的跃迁所致。AlN thin film irradiated with 100 MeV 238U ions delivered from HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared spectra, Raman spectra and Photoluminescence spectra. Phonon vibration absorption modes including A1(To), A1(Lo), E1(To) and E2 appeared in the irradiated samples. The irradiation made the Al—N bonds broken and the formation of Al—dangling bonds, which combined soon with oxygen atoms existing in air to form Al—O bonds. Blue light emission band are related to the two types of defects of VAl-ON-3N and VAl-2ON-2N and F-type defects aggregation. Green light emission band is due to energy transition among valence band of Al atoms in sapphire substrate.     

Proposed search for an electric-dipole moment using laser-cooled 171Yb atoms

We propose an experiment to search for a permanent atomic electric-dipole moment (EDM) using laser-cooled 171Yb atoms launched in an atomic fountain. A uniform B field sets the quantization axis, and the Ramsey separated-oscillatory-fields method is used to measure the Zeeman precession frequency of the atoms. Laser beams of appropriate polarization are used for preparation and detection in a given magnetic sublevel. The signature of an EDM is a shift in the Ramsey resonance correlated with application of a large E field. The precision is expected to be at least 20 times better than current limits because the use of a cold atomic beam allows application of E field 10 times larger than in a vapor cell, and the interaction time with the E field is 200 times larger compared to a thermal beam. The leading source of systematic error in beam experiments, the ×/c motional magnetic field, is reduced considerably because of the near-perfect reversal of velocity between up and down trajectories through the E-field region.     

Neutral atom frequency reference in the deep ultraviolet with fractional uncertainty = 5.7×10(-15)

We present an assessment of the (6s2) (1)S0 ? (6s6p)(3)P0 clock transition frequency in 199Hg with an uncertainty reduction of nearly 3 orders of magnitude and demonstrate an atomic quality factor Q of ～10(14). The 199Hg atoms are confined in a vertical lattice trap with light at the newly determined magic wavelength of 362.5697±0.0011 nm and at a lattice depth of 20E(R). The atoms are loaded from a single-stage magneto-optical trap with cooling light at 253.7 nm. The high Q factor is obtained with an 80 ms Rabi pulse at 265.6 nm. We find the frequency of the clock transition to be 1,128,575,290,808,162.0±6.4(syst)±0.3(stat) Hz (i.e., with fractional uncertainty=5.7×10(-15)). Neither an atom number nor second order Zeeman dependence has yet been detected. Only three laser wavelengths are used for the cooling, lattice trapping, probing, and detection.     

The Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker theory of atoms and molecules

We place the Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker model of atoms on a firm mathematical footing. We prove existence and uniqueness of solutions of the Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker equation as well as the fact that they minimize the Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsäcker energy functional. Moreover, we prove the existence of binding for two very dissimilar atoms in the frame of this model.on leave from Universidad de Chile, Santiago, ChileResearch supported by U. S. National Science Foundation under Grants MCS78-20455 (R. B.), PHY-7825390 A 01 (H. B. and E. L.), and Army Research Grant DAH 29-78-6-0127 (H. B.)     

δ-(Zn,Cr)S(111)表面上的Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya作用:第一性原理计算

根据密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算了具有非中心反演对称的异质结δ-(Zn,Cr)S(111)体系的原子结构和电子结构.Cr原子之间通过第一层S原子传递磁性相互作用.结合广义布洛赫条件,又进一步计算了反方向的自旋螺旋能量与波矢的色散关系E(q)与E(-q).E(q)与E(-q)能量之差反映了δ-(Zn,Cr)S(111)的S层与Cr层之间空间反演对称性破缺引起的DMI的大小.通过海森伯相互作用(HBI)模型与Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya作用(DMI)模型拟合第一性原理计算值,得到了Cr原子间各近邻的HBI参数J_1-J_4与DMI参数d-_1,d_2.在δ-(Zn,Cr)S(111)中,Cr原子间的耦合为M型反铁磁.DMI参数d_1为-0.53 meV,为顺时针手性DMI,在δ-(Zn,Cr)S(111)界面上有可能会产生斯格明子.本文计算表明,磁性和非磁性半导体界面有可能存在DMI,为理论研究和磁存储技术的进步开拓一个新的方向.