Photodetachment of negative ion in a gradient electric field near a metal surface

Based on closed-orbit theory, the photodetachment of H- in a gradient electric field near a metal surface is studied. It is demonstrated that the gradient electric field has a significant influence on the photodetachment of negative ions near a metal surface. With the increase of the gradient of the electric field, the oscillation in the photodetachment cross section becomes strengthened. Besides, in contrast to the photodetachment of H- near a metal surface in a uniform electric field, the oscillating amplitude and the oscillating region in the cross section of a gradient electric field also become enlarged. Therefore, we can use the gradient electric field to control the photodetachment of negative ions near a metal surface. We hope that our results will be useful for understanding the photodetachment of negative ions in the vicinity of surfaces, cavities, and ion traps.

Photodetachment of H^- Near a Dielectric Surface

Using the closed orbit theory, the photodetachment cross section of H- near a dielectric surface has been derived and calculated. The results show that the dielectric surface has great influence on the photodetachment process of negative ion near the ionization threshold. Above the ionization threshold, the photodetachment cross section starts to oscillate. With the increase of the energy, the oscillating amplitude decreases and the oscillating frequency increases. The oscillation in the photodetachment cross section of H- in the presence of a dielectric surface is either larger or smaller than the photodetachment of H- without the surface. As the photon energy is larger than the critical value Epc, the oscillatory structure disappeared and the cross section approaches to the case of the photodetachment of H- without any external fields. For a given detached-electron energy, the photodetachment cross section becomes decreased with the increase of the ion-surface distance. Besides, the dielectric constant has great influence on the photodetachment of H-. With the increase of the dielectric constant, the oscillation in the cross section becomes increased. As the dielectric constant increases to infinity, the cross section is the same as the photodetachment of H- near a metal surface. This study provides a new understanding on the photodetachment process of H- in the presence of a dielectric surface.

Spontaneous Emission of a Polarized Atom in a Medium Between Two Parallel Mirrors

Using the photon closed orbit theory, the spontaneous emission rate of a polarized atom in a medium between two parallel mirrors is derived and calculated. It is found that the spontaneous emission rate of a polarized atom between the mirrors is related to the atomic position and the polarization direction. The results show that in the vicinity of the mirror, the variation of the spontaneous emission rate depends crucially on the atomic polarization direction. With the increase of the polarization angle, the oscillation in the spontaneous emission rate becomes decreased. For the polarization direction parallel to the mirror plane, the oscillation is the greatest; while for the perpendicular polarization direction, the oscillation is nearly vanished. The agreement between our result and the quantum electrodynamics result suggests the correctness of our calculation. This study further verifies that the atomic spontaneous emission process can be effectively controlled by changing the polarization orientation of the atom.

Photodetachment of H^- near a hard wall with arbitrary laser polarization direction

The photodetachment of H-near a hard wall is investigated with linear polarized laser light travelling in arbitrary direction θL with respect to the z axis. An analytical formula for the total cross section is derived using semi-classical closed orbit theory, which consists of two terms, i.e., the smooth background term and the oscillatory term with an extra factor 2(θL). This factor controls oscillations in the total photodetachment cross section. The amplitude of oscillation is maximum at θL = 0 when the laser polarization direction is perpendicular to the wall and it approaches zero at θL = π /2when the laser polarization direction is parallel to the wall. It is also observed that the total cross section depends on the source–wall distance and it reduces to a free space case when the wall is at infinite distance from the source.

Semiclassical calculation of ionisation rate for Rydberg helium atoms in an electric field

The ionisation of Rydberg helium atoms in an electric field above the classical ionisation threshold has been examined using the semiclassical method, with particular emphasis on discussing the influence of the core scattering on the escape dynamics of electrons. The results show that the Rydberg helium atoms ionise by emitting a train of electron pulses. Unlike the case of the ionisation of Rydberg hydrogen atom in parallel electric and magnetic fields, where the pulses of the electron are caused by the external magnetic field, the pulse trains for Rydberg helium atoms are created through core scattering. Each peak in the ionisation rate corresponds to the contribution of one core-scattered combination trajectory. This fact further illustrates that the ionic core scattering leads to the chaotic property of the Rydberg helium atom in external fields. Our studies provide a simple explanation for the escape dynamics in the ionisation of nonhydrogenic atoms in external fields.

Control of the photodetachment of H^-near a metallic sphere surface by an elastic interface

According to the closed-orbit theory, we study the influence of elastic interface on the photodetachment of H- near a metallic sphere surface. First, we give a clear physical description of the detached electron movement between the elastic interface and the metallic sphere surface. Then we put forward an analytical formula for calculating the photodetachment cross section of this system. Our study suggests that the photodetachment cross section of H is changed with the distance between the elastic interface and H^-. Compared with the photodetachment cross section of H^- near a metallic sphere surface without the elastic interface, the cross section of our system oscillates and its oscillation is strengthened with the decrease of the distance from the elastic interface to H^-. In additon, our calcuation results suggest that the influence of the elastic interface becomes much more significant when it is located in the lower half space rather than in the upper half space. Therefore, we can control the photodetachment of H^- near a metallic sphere surface by changing the position of the elastic interface. We hope that our work is conducive to the understanding of the photodetachment process of negative ions near interfaces, cavities and ion traps.

Photodetachment dynamics of H^- ion in a harmonic potential plus a time-dependent oscillating electric field

The photodetachment dynamics of H^- ion in a harmonic potential plus an oscillating electric field is studied using the time-dependent closed orbit theory. An analytical formula for calculating the photodetachment cross section of this system is put forward. It is found that the photodetachment cross section of this system is nearly unaffected for the weak oscillating electric field strength, but oscillates complicatedly when the oscillating electric field strength turns strong. In addition, the frequency of the harmonic potential and the oscillating electric field （the frequency of the harmonic potential and the frequency of the oscillating electric field are the same in the paper, unless otherwise stated.） can also affect the photodetachment dynamics of this system. With the increase of the frequency in the harmonic potential and the oscillating electric field, the number of the closed orbits for the detached electrons increased, which makes the oscillatory structure in the photodetachment cross section much more complex. Our study presents an intuitive understanding of the photodetachment dynamics driven by a harmonic potential plus an oscillating electric field from a space and time dependent viewpoint. This study is very useful in guiding the future experimental research for the photodetachment dynamics in the electric field both changing with space and time.

Absorption and Recurrence Spectra of Li Rydberg Atom in Perpendicular Electric and Magnetic Fields

We develop the semi-closed orbit theory from two degrees of freedom to three non-separable degrees of freedom and put forward a new model potential for the Li Rydberg atom, which reduces the study of the system to an effective one-particle problem. Using this model potential and the closed orbit theory for three degrees of freedom, we caiculate the recurrence spectra of Li Rydberg atom in perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. The closed orbits in the corresponding classicai system have also been obtained. The Fourier transformed spectra of Li atom have ailowed direct comparison between the resonance peaks and the scaied action values of closed orbits, whereas the nonhydrogenic resonance can be explained in terms of the new orbits created by the core scattering. Our result is in good agreement with the quantum spectra, which suggests that our calculation is correct.

Electron Flux Distributions in the Photodetachment of H_2^-in an Electric Field

The electron flux distributions in the photdetachment of a negative hydrogen molecular ion in an electric field have been studied by using the two-center model and the dosed orbit theory. An analytic formula is presented for the electron flux of H2 in the presence of an electric field. The results show that the interference between the two orbits passing through the given spatial point leads to the oscillation in the electron flux distribution. Besides, the interference between the two centers of the H2^- is also very important. The comparison between the electron flux of H2^- in electric field with the result of H^- shows that at the equilibrium distance of two centers in the H2^-, the interference of the two nuclei on the detached electron＇s flux distribution is very strong, while at larger distance of the two centers, the interference effect of the two centers is decreased.

Absorption and Recurrence Spectra of Nonhydrogenic Rydberg Atom Near a Metal Surface

Multielectron to theoretical treatments atoms near a metal surface are essentially more complicated than hydrogen atom with regard By using the semicalssical dosed orbit theory generalized to the multielecton atoms, we study the dynamical properties of the Rydberg lithium atom near a metal surface. The photoabsorption spectra and recurrence spectra of this system have also been calculated. Considering the effect of the ionic core potential of the Rydberg lithium atom, the number of the closed orbits increases, which leads to more peaks in the recurrence spectra than the case of hydrogen atom near a metal surface. This result shows that the core-scattered effects play an important role in nonhydrogenic atoms. This study is a new application of the closed-orbit theory and is of potential experimental interest.

The influence of interface modifier on photodetachment of negative ions in an electric field near a metal surface

Based on closed-orbit theory, the influence of an interface modifier on the photodetachment of H^- in an electric field near a metal surface is studied. It is demonstrated that the interface strengthens the oscillations in the photodetachment cross section. However, when the electric field environments are different, the strengthening oscillations are caused by different sources. When the electric field direction is upward, the interface enhances the oscillations by shortening the period and the action of the closed orbit. When the electric field direction is downward, the interface strengthens the oscillations either by extending the coherent energy range or by increasing the total number of the closed orbits. We hope that our results will be conducive to the understanding of the photodetachment process of negative ions near interfaces, cavities and ion traps.

Semiclassical calculation of recurrence spectra of Rydberg He_2^+ molecular ion in a magnetic field

Making use of the molecular closed-orbit theory and a new model potential for the Rydberg molecule, we have calculated the recurrence spectra of He^2＋ molecular ion in a magnetic field for different quantum defects. The Fourier transform spectra of He^2＋ molecular ion may be used to perform a direct comparison between peaks in the spectra and the scaled action values of closed orbits of the excited electron in external fields. We find that the spectral modulations can be analysed in terms of the scattering of the excited electron on the molecular core. Unlike the case of the Rydberg atom where the elastic scattering is predominant, modulations produced by inelastic scattering are also vital to the photoabsorption spectrum of the Rydberg molecule. Our results are in good agreement with the quantum results, which suggests that our method is correct.