Excitation and Ionization of Rydberg Atoms
Using Microwave and Static Fields
Dennis Bauer
Advisor: Dr. Enrique J. Galvez
Sodium atoms were excited to an s state of a high principle quantum number, n ≈ 30, in the presence of a static electric field. These excited atoms, Rydberg atoms, were then exposed to a microwave field. Measurements of the survival probability as a function of both static and microwave fields were made. We will compare these results to a theoretical model.
