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The behavior of gases of ground state atoms in the presence of
inhomogeneous magnetic fields is well-understood. Here the atoms can, to a good approximation, be treated as point-like particles which couple
through their total angular momentum to the magnetic field.
However, such description fails for highly excited atoms
since here even for small gradients the magnetic field can significantly
vary over the atomic dimension. In this case one has to account for the
coupling of the charge and of the magnetic moments of the atomic
constituents to the external field. Understanding the consequences
of this intricate coupling is essential for a controlled manipulation
of ultracold excited atoms in the quantum regime. Moreover, it might
permit a detailed experimental study of many-body effects
in magnetically trapped gases of excited atoms.
I will present a Hamiltonian which describes the coupled electronic and center of mass dynamics of an excited alkali atom in an arbitrarily shaped linear magnetic field configuration. For atoms in Rydberg configuration the underlying Schrödinger equation is solved by pursuing an adiabatic approach. I will give an analysis of the quantized center of mass quantum in the adiabatic energy surfaces. Here, I will outline under which circumstances trapped center of mass states are achievable and discuss their lifetimes with respect to radiative decay. |
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