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Control of atomic and molecular motion via the Stark effect in Rydberg states

A novel theoretical study of the control of translational motion of atomic and molecular Rydberg states in inhomogeneous static electric fields is presented. Simulations have been carried out demonstrating that, under realistic conditions, the deflection and focusing of Rydberg atoms and molecules should be achievable. Advantage is taken of the high susceptibility of the Rydberg states to external electric fields, allowing the use of much smaller fields than would be necessary for ground state neutrals. The simulations presented are for trajectories of Rydberg states with n = 18-20 in the fields of an electric dipole, quadrupole and hexapole. A deflection of 7 mm is predicted for n = 18 Rydberg states travelling parallel to the dipole after 100 µs time of flight. In the hexapole n = 20 Rydberg states are refocused to a spot size of the order of the laser beam waist (10 µm) after 20 µs. It is demonstrated that the hexapole can also act as a cylindrical lens if its axis is perpendicular to the Rydberg beam direction. Spontaneous emission and black-body decay rates are also calculated, and their variation with the applied field is investigated. The potential applications of this work might include the use of focusing and deflection for controlled low-energy collisions of Rydberg molecules with surfaces.