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In recent years, Rydberg atoms have been the subject of intense study, becoming
the testing ground for several quantum mechanical problems. This book provides
a comprehensive description of the physics of Rydberg atoms, highlighting their
remarkable properties by reference to their behavior in a wide range of physical
situations.
Beginning with a brief historical overview, the basic properties, creation and
detection of Rydberg atoms are described. The effects of blackbody radiation are
discussed, as are optical excitation in static electric fields, ionization by pulsed
electric fields, Rydberg spectroscopy in high magnetic fields, and microwave
excitation and ionization. The collisions of Rydberg atoms with neutral atoms and
molecules, charged particles, and other Rydberg atoms are dealt with in detail.
The powerful method of multichannel quantum defect theory is presented, and
used in the description of autoionizing Rydberg states, interseries interactions and
double Rydberg states.
In addition to providing a clear introduction to the basic properties of Rydberg
atoms, experimental and theoretical research in this extensive field is reviewed.
The books will therefore be valuable to both graduate students and established
researchers in physics and physical chemistry.
 Cambridge Monographs on
Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Physics
3

General editors: A. Dalgarno, P. L. Knight, F. H. Read, R. N. Zare

RYDBERG ATOMS
 Cambridge Monographs on
Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Physics

1. R. Schinke Photodissociation Dynamics

2. L. Frommhold Collision-induced Absorption in Gases
3. T. F. Gallagher Rydberg Atoms
RYDBERG ATOMS
THOMAS F. GALLAGHER
Jesse W. Beams Professor of Physics
Department of Physics, University of Virginia

CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521385312

© Cambridge University Press 1994

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1994

This digitally printed first paperback version 2005

A catalogue recordfor this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

Gallagher, Thomas F.
Rydberg atoms / Thomas F. Gallagher.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-521-38531-8
1. Rydberg states. I. Title.
QC454.A8S27 1994
539.7—dc20 93-37132 CIP

ISBN-13 978-0-521-38531-2 hardback

ISBN-10 0-521-38531-8 hardback

ISBN-13 978-0-521-02166-1 paperback

ISBN-10 0-521-02166-9 paperback
 Contents

Preface xiii

1 Introduction 1
References 9

2 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 10

References 26

3 Production of Rydberg atoms 27

Excitation to the Rydberg states 27
Electon impact 29
Charge exchange 31
Optical excitation 32
Collisional-optical excitation 35
References 37

4 Oscillator strengths and lifetimes 38

Oscillator strengths 38
Radiative lifetimes 45
References 49

5 Black body radiation 50

Black body radiation 50
Black body induced transitions 53
Black body energy shifts 55
Initial verification 57
Temperature dependent measurements 59
Suppression and enhancement of transition rates 61
Level shifts 64
Experimental manifestations and uses 65
Far infrared detection 66
References 68

6 Electric fields 70
Hydrogen 70
Field ionization 83
Nonhydrogenic atoms 87
Ionization of nonhydrogenic atoms 95
References 101

vn
viii Contents

7 Pulsed field ionization 103

Hydrogen 104
Nonhydrogenic atoms 105
Spin orbit effects 115
References 119

8 Photoexcitation in electric fields 120

Hydrogenic spectra 120
Nonhydrogenic spectra 135
References 141

9 Magnetic fields 143

Diamagnetism 143
Quasi Landau resonances 147
Quasi classical orbits 153
References 160

10 Microwave excitation and ionization 162

Microwave ionization of nonhydrogenic atoms 164
Microwave multiphoton transitions 168
Hydrogen 182
Ionization by circularly polarized fields 190
References 193

11 Collisions with neutral atoms and molecules 195

A physical picture 196
Theory 198
Experimental methods 205
Collisional angular momentum mixing 208
The effects of electric fields on € mixing 212
€ mixing by molecules 213
Fine structure changing collisions 215
n changing collisions by rare gases 216
n changing by alkali atoms 220
n changing by molecules 221
Electron attachment 230
Associative ionization 239
Penning ionization 243
Ion-perturber collisions 243
Fast collisons 245
References 247
 Contents ix

12 Spectral line shifts and broadenings 250

Theory 250
Experimental methods 254
Measurements of shifts and broadening 255
References 267

13 Charged particle collisions 269

State changing collisions with ions 269
Na nd —» ra€transitions 270
Depopulation of the Na ns and np states 272
Theoretical descriptions 275
Electron loss 276
Charge exchange 279
Electron collisions 285
References 288

14 Resonant Rydberg-Rydberg collisions 290

Two state theory 294
Box interaction strength approximation 295
Exact resonance approximation 296
Numerical calculations 298
Intracollisional interference 301
Calculation of cross sections 301
Experimental approach 302
n scaling laws 303
Orientation dependence of v and E and intracollisional interference 306
Velocity dependence of the collisional resonances 307
Transform limited collisions 312
References 313

15 Radiative collisions 314

Initial experimental study of radiative collisions 317
Theoretical description 321
References 339

16 Spectroscopy of alkali Rydberg states 340

Optical measurements 341
Radiofrequency resonance 343
Core polarization 348
Fine structure intervals 352
Quantum beats and level crossing 355
References 363
x Contents

17 Rf spectroscopy of alkaline earth atoms 365

Theoretical description of series perturbation and nonadiabatic
effects in core polarization 365
Experimental methods 373
Low angular momentum states and series perturbations 375
Non adiabatic core polarization 376
References 380

18 Bound He Rydberg states 381

Theoretical description 381
Experimental approaches 384
Quantum defects and fine structure 391
References 393

19 Autoionizing Rydberg states 395

Basic notions of autoionizing Rydberg states 395
Experimental methods 399
Experimental observations of autoionization rates 408
Electron spectroscopy 411
References 413

20 Quantum defect theory 415

Quantum defect theory (QDT) 415
Geometrical interpretation of the quantum defect surface 421
Normalization 422
Energy constraints 423
Alternative R matrix form of QDT 424
The role of QDT 427
References 428

21 Optical spectra of autoionizing Rydberg states 429

The shake up satellites 434
Interacting autoionizing series 440
Comparison between experimental spectra and R matrix calculations 448
References 451

22 Interseries interaction in bound states 453

Perturbed Rydberg series 453
Properties of perturbed states 457
Continuity of photoexcitation across ionization limits 460
Forced autoionization 461
References 464
 Contents xi

23 Double Rydberg states 466

Doubly excited states of He 467
Theoretical descriptions 469
Laser excitation 480
Experimental observations of electron correlation 482
References 491

Index 493
 Preface

My intent in writing this book is to present a unified description of the many

properties of Rydberg atoms. It is intended for graduate students and research
workers interested in the properties of Rydberg states of atoms or molecules. In
many ways it is similar to the excellent volume Rydberg States of Atoms and
Molecules edited by R. F. Stebbings and F. B. Dunning just over a decade ago. It
differs, however, in covering more topics and in being written by one author. I
have attempted to focus on the essential physical ideas. Consequently the
theoretical developments are not particularly formal, nor is there much emphasis
on the experimental details.
The constraints imposed by the size of the book and my energy have forced me
to limit the topics covered in this book to those of general interest and those about
which I already knew something. Consequently, several important topics which
might well have been included by another author are not included in the present
volume. Two examples are molecular Rydberg states and cavity quantum electro-
dynamics.
Finally, it is a great pleasure to acknowledge the fact that this book would never
have been written without the efforts of many people. First I would like to
acknowledge the help of my colleagues in the Molecular Physics Laboratory of
SRI International (originally Stanford Research Institute). They had the confi-
dence that our initial experiments would develop into a productive research
program, and they completed my education as a physicist. My colleagues at the
University of Virginia have continued to provide both a critical audience and the
encouragement necessary to undertake the writing of this book.
My collaborators have contributed substantially to my understanding of Ryd-
berg atoms, and it is a pleasure to acknowledge the contributions of L. A.
Bloomfield, W. E. Cooke, S. A. Edelstein, F. Gounand, R. M. Hill, R. Kachru,
R. R. Jones, D. J. Larson, D. C. Lorents, L. Noordam, P. Pillet, K. A. Safinya,
W. Sandner, and R. C. Stoneman. In addition I have been the beneficiary of the
insights of my students, post doctoral fellows, and visitors. Without all of their
contributions this book could not have been written.
I am indebted to Tammie Shifflett, Bessie Truzy, Warrick Liu, and Sibyl Hale
for their careful typing of the manuscript, and it is a pleasure to acknowledge the
encouragement of James Deeny, Rufus Neal, and Philip Meyler of the Cambridge

xni
xiv Preface

University Press. Finally, the gentle prodding of my mother, Margaret Gallagher,

and the patience of my wife, Betty, played important roles in the completion of
this book.

Charlottesville, Virginia T. F. Gallagher

November, 1993
 1
Introduction

Rydberg atoms, atoms in states of high principal quantum number, n, are atoms
with exaggerated properties. While they have only been studied intensely since
the nineteen seventies, they have played a role in atomic physics since the
beginning of quantitative atomic spectroscopy. Their role in the early days of
atomic spectroscopy is described by White.1
The first appearance of Rydberg atoms is in the Balmer series of atomic H.
Balmer's formula, from 1885, for the wavelengths of the visible series of atomic H,
is given by1

where b = 3645.6 A. We now recognize Eq. (1.1) as giving the wavelengths of the
Balmer series of transitions from the n = 2 states to higher lying levels.
While the H atom was the first atom to be understood in a quantitative way,
other atoms played a crucial role in unravelling the mysteries of atomic spectro-
scopy. For example, Liveing and Dewar2made the important observation that the
observed spectral lines of Na could be grouped into different series. Specifically
they observed the Na ns-3p and nd-3p emissions from an arc. Up to the 9s and 8d
states they observed doublets due to thefinestructure splitting of the 3p state, but
for the 10s and 9d states they were unable to resolve the 3p doublet. The ns-3p
doublets appeared as sharp lines while the nd-3p doublets appeared as diffuse
lines. Most important, they recognized that these sharp and diffuse doublets were
members of two series of related lines, although they were unsuccessful in their
attempts to relate the wavelengths of the observed transitions.
Knowing, as we do today, that the Na d states are almost degenerate with the
higher angular momentum states of the same n, we are not surprised that the
series of transitions to the d Rydberg series is diffuse. They are much more likely
to suffer pressure broadening. In contrast to Na, Liveing and Dewar noted that in
the K spectrum the s and d series were not particularly different, both being "more
or less diffuse".2 We now realize that the difference between Na and K is due to
the fact that both the s and the d Rydberg states of K are energetically well
removed from the high angular momentum states.
A crucial advance was made by Hartley, who in his studies of the spectra of Mg,
Zn, and Cd, first realized the significance of the frequency of a transition as
opposed to the experimentally measured wavelength.1'3 Hartley observed that

1
2 Rydberg atoms

the splittings of series of multiplets always had the same wavenumber splitting,
irrespective of the wavelengths of the transitions. The wavenumber, v, is the
inverse of the wavelength in vacuum. The importance of this realization is hard to
overstate and is immediately apparent if we rewrite Balmer's formula in terms of
the wavenumber of the observed lines instead of the wavelength,

It is evident that it simply reflects the energy difference between the n = 2 and
higher lying states.
Following the precedent of Liveing and Dewar, Rydberg began to classify the
spectra of other atoms, notably alkali atoms, into sharp, principal, and diffuse
series of lines.4 Each series of lines has a common lower level and a series of ns,
np, or nd levels, respectively, as the upper levels of the sharp, principal, and
diffuse series. He realized that the wavenumbers of the series members were
related and that the wavenumbers of the observed lines could be expressed as 1'4

VQ = Voo* - •

(L3)

Ry

where the constants v ^ , Voop, and Vood and (5S, (5p, and dd are the series limits and
quantum defects of the sharp, principal, and diffuse series. The constant Ry is a
universal constant, which can be used to describe the wavenumbers of the
transitions, not only for different series of the same atom, but for different atoms
as well. This constant, Ry, is now known as the Rydberg constant. Defining the
wavenumber as the inverse of the wavelength in air, Rydberg4 assigned Ry the
value 109721.6 cm"1. Recognition of the generality of the Rydberg constant is one
of Rydberg's two major accomplishments. The other was to show that all the
spectral lines from an atom are related. Specifically, he realized that VooS and Vood
were the same to within experimental error. For example, for the series originat-
ing in the Na 3p3/2 and 3p1/2 levels he assigned the values 24485.9 and 24500.5
cm"1 for Voos, and 24481.8 and 24496.4 cm"1 for Vood. In addition, he observed that
Voop — VooS was equal to the wavenumber of thefirstmember of the principal series.
He reasoned that it should be possible to see other series which did not have the
first term of the principal series in common, but some other term instead. This
notion led him to a general expression for the wavenumbers of lines connecting
different series. The wavenumbers of lines connecting the s and p series, for
example, are given by4
 Introduction

&

Fig. 1.1 Energy level diagram for Na showing the sharp 3p-ns, principal 3s-np, and diffuse
3p-nd series.

R R
±v= y y
(m-ds)2 (n-dp)2
In Eq. (1.4) the + sign and constant n describe a sharp series of s states and the
minus sign and a constant m describe a principal series of p states. If we consider
the special case ds = dp = 0 and m = 2 we arrive at Balmer's formula for the H
transitions from n=2.
From the early spectroscopic work it is possible to construct an energy level
diagram for Na, as shown in Fig. 1.1. From this figure it is apparent that the
difference in the principal and sharp series limits is the wavenumber of the 3s-3p
transition. It is also apparent that the Rydberg states, states of high principal
quantum number n, lie close to the series limit.
The physical significance of high n did not become clear until Bohr proposed his
model of the H atom in 1913.l In spite of its shortcomings, the Bohr atom contains
the properties of Rydberg atoms which make them interesting. The basis of the
Bohr atom is an electron moving classically in a circular orbit around an ionic core.
To the currently accepted ideas of classical physics Bohr added two notions; that
the angular momentum was quantized in integral units of ft, Planck's constant
divided by 2jr, and that the electron did not radiate continuously in a classical
manner, but gave off radiation only in making transitions between states of well
defined energies. The first was an assumption, and the second was forced upon
him by the experimental observations.
4 Rydberg atoms

The Bohr theory can be summarized as follows. An electron of charge —e and

mass m in a circular orbit of radius r about an infinitely heavy positive charge of Ze
obeys Newton's law for uniform circular motion5
.,2
^ =^ - , (1.5)
r r
where k = l/4jie0, e0 being the permittivity of free space. Adding Bohr's require-
ment of the quantization of angular momentum yields
mvr = nh. (1-6)
Combining Eqs. (1.5) and (1.6) leads immediately to an expression for the radius r
of the orbit

(1.7)
Ze2mk

In other words, the size of the orbit increases as the square of the principal
quantum number, and states of high n have very large orbits. The energy, W, of a
state is obtained by adding its kinetic and potential energies,

W =— - ^ - = , ' • (1.8)
2 r 2n2h2 K
'
The energies are negative, i.e. the electron is bound to the proton, and the binding
energy decreases as 1/n2. The allowed transition frequencies are the differences in
the energies. Explicitly

\ - \ \ (1-9)

Comparing this expression to the general form of Rydberg's formula we can see
that

Ry =

Historically, the most important aspect of the Bohr atom was that it related the
spectroscopic Rydberg constant to the mass and charge of the electron. From our
present point of view, the Bohr atom physically defines Rydberg atoms and shows
us why they are interesting. In high n, or Rydberg, states the valence electrons
have binding energies which decrease as 1/n2 and orbital radii which increase as
n2. In other words, in a Rydberg atom the valence electron is in a large, loosely
bound orbit. Although Rydberg atoms of principal quantum number well over
100 have been studied in the laboratory, it is instructive to consider a relatively low
Rydberg state, n = 10, and compare it to a ground state atom. The ground state of
H is bound by 1 Ry, 13.6 eV, and has an orbital radius of la0 and a geometric cross
section of a02' In contrast, the n = 10 state has a binding energy of 0.01 Ry, an
 Introduction

n = 10

Fig. 1.2 Bohr orbits of n = 1 and n = 10. The solid dark circle at the center is the n — \ orbit
of radius la0. The n = 10 orbit has radius 100a0. la0 = 0.53 A.

orbital radius of 100a0, and a geometric cross section of 104a02. Fig. 1.2 is a
drawing of the Bohr orbits for n = 1 and n = 10, which demonstrates graphically
the difference between a Rydberg atom and a ground state atom. The binding
energy of the n = 10 atom is comparable to thermal energies, and the geometric
cross section is orders of magnitude larger than gas kinetic cross sections.
Once the Bohr theory was formulated it was apparent that Rydberg atoms
should have bizarre properties. Why then were Rydberg atoms not studied more
extensively until the nineteen seventies? There are two reasons. First, the most
pressing problem at the time was not the properties of atoms near the series limit,
but the development of the quantum theory. Second, there was simply no means
of making Rydberg atoms efficiently enough to study them in the detail that is now
possible. Nonetheless, the most sophisticated tool available at the time, high
resolution absorption spectroscopy, was used in the first experiments to demon-
strate the bizarre properties of Rydberg atoms. By examining the fine details of
the spectra, the splittings, shifts, and broadenings, it was possible to learn a great
deal about Rydberg states.
One of the first properties to be explored was the sensitivity of Rydberg atoms
to external electric fields, the Stark effect. While ground state atoms are nearly
immune to electric fields, relatively modest electric fields not only perturb the
Rydberg energy levels, but even ionize Rydberg atoms, as was shown in early
 Rydberg atoms

-0.02

Fig. 1.3 Combined Coulomb-Stark potential along the z axis for afieldof 5.14 kV/cm in the
z direction.

studies of the Balmer series in electricfieldsof up to 106 V/cm.6'7The Balmer lines

exhibit a splitting which is approximately linear in the electric field, and the
components actually disappear at well defined values of the electric field due to
field ionization of the Rydberg state.
While the Bohr atom is of no help in understanding the splittings of the Balmer
lines, using it we can calculate the field at which a state is ionized by an electric
field. Consider a H atom with its nucleus at the origin in the presence of an electric
field in the z direction. The potential experienced by an electron moving along the
z axis is given by

V=- — + Ez (1.11)

and is shown in Fig. 1.3. Only electrons with energies lower than the local
maximum of the potential, at z = — 1000a0, are classically bound. In the real three
dimensional potential the local maximum at z = -1000tf0 is a saddle point, and
electrons with energies above the saddle point of the potential are ionized by the
field. The potential at the saddle point is given by
Vs=-2VkE. (1.12)
2
If this energy is equated to the energy of the Rydberg state, -Ry/n , we find the
classical field for ionization of a state of principal quantum number n

This formula is usually encountered in atomic units, in which it reads

Ec=lll6n\ (1.14)
In the next chapter we shall introduce atomic units. Although we have derived Eq.
(1.13) with no regard for tunneling or the shifts of the energy levels in an electric
 Introduction 7

field, it is quite a useful expression, as it is, in a practical sense, nearly exact for
nonhydrogenic atoms.
The size of a Rydberg atom is large, the geometric cross section scaling as n 4,
and, not surprisingly, early experiments were focused on this aspect of Rydberg
atoms. A classic experiment was undertaken by Amaldi and Segre to observe the
energy shifts of the high lying members of the Rydberg series of K in the presence
of high pressures of rare gas atoms.8 Specifically, they observed the shifts of the
4s-np absorption lines due to the added rare gas. The expectation at the time was
that a red shift of the lines would be observed due to the fact that the space
between the Rydberg electron and the K + ion isfilledwith a polarizable dielectric,
the rare gas atoms, instead of vacuum. While the pressure shifts for Ar and He
were to the red, the pressure shift for Ne was to the blue, an observation
completely incompatible with the dielectric model. Shortly after the experiment
Fermi explained the pressure shifts as arising predominantly from the short range
scattering of the Rydberg electron from the rare gas atom, not from the
anticipated dielectric effect.9 This experiment was perhaps the first of many in
which the result was diametrically opposed to expectations.
Due to their large size, Rydberg atoms also exhibit large diamagnetic energy
shifts. Since the Zeeman and Paschen-Back effects are proportional to the
angular momentum, they are not particularly striking in the optically accessible
low € Rydberg states. The diamagnetic shifts on the other hand depend on the
area of the orbit and thus scale as n4. The diamagnetic shifts are very difficult to
see in low n states, but in high n states they are quite evident. The diamagnetic
shifts were first observed by Jenkins and Segre in the absorption spectrum of K
taken in the 27 kG field of the Berkeley cyclotron.10 As n increases thefieldfirst
mixes states of different €,then mixes states of different n. Only within the last 20
years have experiments progressed substantially beyond thesefirstexperiments of
Jenkins and Segre. Ironically, the study of Rydberg atoms in magneticfields,one
of the first topics studied, is still a topic of active research 50 years later.
The interest in Rydberg atoms waned until it became apparent that they might
play an important role in real physical systems. In particular it became apparent
that they were important astrophysically.11 The radio recombination lines
detected by radio astronomers are the emissions from transitions between
Rydberg states subsequent to radiative recombination. A particularly favorable
frequency regime in which to search for radio signals is 2.4 GHz, which corre-
sponds to the n = 109 to n = 108 transition. While it is not surprising that Rydberg
atoms might be found in interstellar space, where the density is very low, they also
play an important role in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. 1213 Radiative
recombination of low energy electrons and ions results in Rydberg atoms, and
dielectronic recombination of higher energy electrons and ions often proceeds by
the capture of the electrons into autoionizing Rydberg states and the subsequent
radiative decay to bound Rydberg states. Furthermore, the microscopic electric
fields in a plasma cut off the Rydberg series at or near the classical ionization limit,
8 Rydberg atoms

as described by Eq. (1.4). Precisely how the Rydberg series is terminated is a

matter of some importance, for it determines the thermodynamic properties of
the plasma.12
The single event which probably contributed the most to the resurgence of
interest in Rydberg atoms was the development of the tunable dye laser.14'15 With
a tunable dye laser and very simple apparatus it became possible to excite large
numbers of atoms to a single, well defined Rydberg state. This ability allowed one
to study a wide range of properties in astonishing detail. Many properties familiar
from low lying excited states, such as the radiative lifetimes, energy level spacings,
and collision cross sections were measured systematically, and in many, but not
all, cases the properties followed the expected extrapolations from the low lying
states. Perhaps more interesting were the investigations of the properties which
are in a practical sense peculiar to Rydberg atoms. A good example of such
properties is the effect of an electricfield.While the gross effects of electric fields
on Rydberg atoms had been observed long before in optical spectra, and worked
out theoretically for some cases, they had not been understood in a systematic
way, mainly because there appeared to be no pressing reason to do so. Not only do
electricfieldsproduce dramatic effects on Rydberg atoms, but they also afford us
novel techniques for the detection and manipulation of Rydberg atoms. To
exploit fully these techniques has required a systematic study of the static and
dynamic effects of electric fields.
The most fascinating opportunities presented by Rydberg atoms are those
which take advantage of their exaggerated properties to carry out experiments
that would be impossible in other systems. One example of this is the interaction
of atoms with radiation fields. In the low intensity limit, Rydberg atoms provide
an ideal system with which to test the interaction of an atom with the vacuum,
particularly with the structured vacuum produced by a resonant cavity. Outstand-
ing examples are the one atom maser16 and the two photon maser.17 Rydberg
atoms have two properties which make them ideal for such investigations. First,
the characteristic frequencies of Rydberg atom transitions are low, and the
wavelengths correspondingly long, making the construction of resonant or near
resonant cavities a straightforward matter. Second, the dipole moments of
Rydberg atoms are so large that they have usable radiative decay rates in spite of
the low transition frequencies. At the other intensity extreme, advances in laser
technology have made atoms in strong radiation fields, fields comparable in
magnitude to the coulomb field, a topic of both practical and fundamental
interest.18"20 While it is apparent that any practical applications will involve
intense lasers and ground state atoms and molecules, a Rydberg atom in a
microwave field is an ideal system in which to carry out quantitative measure-
ments of the properties of atoms in strong radiation fields.21
All the properties we have discussed thus far are those of atoms with one
Rydberg electron. Double Rydberg atoms, atoms in which there are two highly
excited electrons, exhibit pronounced correlation between the motions of the two
 References 9

electrons and have properties which differ in a qualitative way from those of
normal Rydberg atoms.22 While some experiments have been done, they have
only scratched the surface, and much is yet to be learned about these exotic atoms.

References
1. H. E. White, Introduction to Atomic Spectra (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1934).
2. G. D. Liveing and J. Dewar, Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. 29, 398 (1879).
3. W. N. Hartley, /. Chem. Soc. 43, 390 (1883)
4. J. R. Rydberg, Phil. Mag. 5th Ser. 29, 331 (1890)
5. H. Semat and J. R. Albright, Introduction to Atomic and Nuclear Physics (Holt, Rinehart, and
Winston, New York, 1972).
6. H. A. Bethe and E. A. Salpeter, Quantum Mechanics of One and Two Electron Atoms
(Academic Press, New York, 1957).
7. H. Rausch v. Traubenberg, Z. Phys. 54 307 (1929).
8. E. Amaldi and E. Segre, Nuovo Cimento 11, 145 (1934).
9. E. Fermi, Nuovo Cimento 11, 157 (1934).
10. F. A. Jenkins and E. Segre, Phys. Rev. 55, 59 (1939).
11. A. Dalgarno, in Rydberg States of Atoms and Molecules, eds. R.F. Stebbings and F.B.
Dunning (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983).
12. D. G. Hummer and D. Mihalis, Astrophys. J. 331, 794, (1988).
13. V. L. Jacobs, J. Davis, and P. C. Kepple, Phys. Rev. Lett. 37, 1390, (1976).
14. P. P. Sorokin and J. R. Lankard, IBM3. Res. Dev. 10, 162, (1966).
15. T. W. Hansch, Appl. Opt. 11, 895, (1972).
16. D. Meschede, H. Walther, and G. Miiller, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 551, (1985).
17. M. Brune, J. M. Raimond, P. Goy, L. Davidovitch, and S. Haroche, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59,1899,
(1987).
18. A. L'Huillier, L.A. Lompre, G. Mainfray, and C. Manus, Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 1814, (1982).
19. T. S. Luk, H. Pommer, K. Boyer, M. Shahidi, H. Egger, and C. K. Rhodes, Phys. Rev. Lett.
51, 110,(1983).
20. R. R. Freeman, P. H. Bucksbaum, H. Milchberg, S. Darack, D. Schumacher, and M. E.
Geusic, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1092, (1987).
21. J. E. Bayfield and P. M. Koch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 33, 258, (1974).
22. U. Fano, Rep. Prog. Phys. 46, 97, (1983).
 2
Rydberg atom wavefunctions

To calculate the properties of Rydberg atoms we need wavefunctions to describe

them. In this chapter we use the methods of quantum defect theory to develop the
wavefunctions for an electron in a coulomb potential. This approach may be
applied to any single valence electron Rydberg atom, including the H atom as a
special case. From a practical point of view it is an important special case, because
the analytic properties of the hydrogenic wavefunctions are well known and are
useful in obtaining analytic solutions to a variety of problems. We also present
numerical methods for generating accurate coulomb wavefunctions for use in
later problems. Finally, we show how scaling laws of many properties of Rydberg
atoms are easily obtained from the wavefunctions.
If we consider Rydberg states of H and Na, as shown in Fig. 2.1, they are
essentially similar. The only difference between the two is that the Na + core,
while having charge 1, has a finite size due to its being made up of a nucleus of
charge +11 and ten electrons. When the Rydberg electron is far from the Na +
core it is only sensitive to the net charge. Since the Rydberg electron spends most

(a)

(b)

Fig. 2.1 Rydberg atoms of (a) H and (b) Na. In H the electron orbits around the point
charge of the proton. In Na it orbits around the +11 nuclear charge and ten inner shell
electrons. In high € states Na behaves identically to H, but in low € states the Na electron
penetrates and polarizes the inner shell electrons of the Na + core.

10
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 11

of its time near its classical outer turning point, where the differences between Na
and H are minimal, we expect the properties of all Rydberg atoms to be similar.
On the other hand, when the Rydberg electron comes near the Na + core the
precise charge distribution of the Na + core does play a role. In particular, the
Rydberg electron can both polarize and penetrate the Na + core, and both
polarization and penetration change the wavefunctions and energies of a Na
Rydberg state from their hydrogenic counterparts.
If we consider Na and H atoms in states of high orbital angular momentum, for
example in circular Bohr orbits, the differences are negligible, for the Na electron
never comes close enough to the Na + core to detect that it is anything other than a
point charge. On the other hand, if the electron is in a highly elliptic low €orbit, on
each orbit the Rydberg electron comes close to the core, where there is a
significant difference between Na and H. In fact, there are very interesting
differences between the low € and high € states of Na, the most obvious being the
depression of the energies of the low € states below the H levels, due to core
polarization and penetration. When the Na Rydberg electron penetrates the
cloud of the inner ten electrons, it is exposed to the unshielded +11 nuclear
charge, and its binding energy is increased, or, equivalently, its total energy
decreased. Similarly, polarization of the Na + core produces a decrease in the
energy of a Rydberg state. In Fig. 2.2 we show the energy levels of H and Na. As
expected, the H and high € Na levels are degenerate on the scale of Fig. 2.2, but
the low € states of Na are depressed in energy.1 Their energies are given by

(2.1)
(» - 6eY
where d€ is an empirically observed quantum defect for the series of orbital
angular momentum €. The depression of the energies of the low € states of Na
below the H values is perhaps the most obvious difference between Na and H.
However the alteration in the wavefunction required to produce these energy
differences leads to many other differences as well.
In the calculation of atomic properties it is convenient to introduce atomic units
which are defined so that all the relevant parameters for the ground state of H
have magnitude one. The atomic units most useful for our purposes are given in
Table 2.1. 2 An extensive list is given by Bethe and Salpeter.2 Throughout the
book atomic units will be used for all calculations, with conversions to other units
to facilitate comparisons to experiment.
In developing Rydberg atom wavefunctions we begin with the Schroedinger
equation for the H atom, which, in atomic units, may be written as
V2 1\
* '"• (2.2)

where r is the distance of the electron from the proton, assumed to be infinitely
massive, and W is its energy. Unless stated otherwise, we shall consider only
12 Rydberg atoms

SODIUM HYDROGEN

s P d f 9

8 8 8 §_
__ 7 7 7_ 7_
8
7_
6 6 6

6
5 5 5

10 I—

Fig. 2.2 Energy level diagram for H and Na (from ref. 1).

Table 2.1. Atomic units.

Quantity Atomic unit Definition

Mass Electron mass 9.1 x 10~28 g
Charge Electron charge e 1.6 x 10~19 C
Energy Twice the ionization potential of hydrogen 27.2 ey
Length Radius of a0, the first Bohr orbit 0.529 A
Velocity Velocity of the first Bohr orbit 2.19 x 108 cm/s
Electric field Field at the first Bohr orbit 5.14 x 109 V/cm
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 13

x
Fig. 2.3 Geometry of the atom.

neutral atoms in which an electron far from the ionic core sees a charge of +1. In
spherical coordinates

v 2
+ + 2
A( sin ,A) + 4J , 4 (2.3)
dr rdr r sin 6 dO \ dOj r2 sin 2 0 dcp2
where 0 and 0 are the polar angle relative to the quantization axis and the
azimuthal angle, respectively, as shown in Fig. 2.3. If we assume that Eq. (2.2)
is separable and write rp as a product of radial and angular functions, i.e.
V = Y(6,(f>) R(r), Eq. (2.2) becomes

2(w+l)R]Y+
dr2 r dr

= 0. (2.4)
[r2 sin 0 d 0 \ dO) r2 sin 2 0 d2 <p

Dividing by RYlr2 yields the separated form

r2\d2R 2dR ^/ l \ o l 1 [ 1 d ( . ndY\ 1 dY] _
— — T+ + 21W+—\R 4— sin0— +—^ T- =0.
^[ar2 rar \ r/ J Y[sin^a(9\ d0/ sin 2 0d 2 0J
(2.5)
The two terms, which depend only on R and Y, respectively, are independent of
each other and therefore must be separately equal to ±A, where X is a constant.
If we further assume that we can write the angular function as Y(0,0) =
O(0)<E>(0), we may write the angular equation as

sin0d0\ dO] shr 0 d <p

The solution to Eq. (2.6) is the normalized spherical harmonic, 2
14 Rydberg atoms

Table 2.2. Normalized spherical

harmonics for s,p, and d states.a

Y10 =

Y1±1 =
~\8Jr Sm

Y20 = J5(fcos2*-f)
±l<t>
Y2±i = ± /— sin 0 cos 6 e
\ oJT

Y2±2 =

"(fromref. 2)

- ^ | ^ ^ *Y" (cos ey»*, (2.7)

where PT(x) is the unnormalized associated Legendre polynomial, ( is zero or a

positive integer, m takes integral values from - € to €, andA = €(€ + 1). The
spherical harmonics are normalized,

sin 0 d0 f" d0Y?m(0,0)y€m(0,0) = 1. (2.8)

In Table 2.2 we have listed the first few spherical harmonics, for the s, p, and d
states. It is worth noting that some authors introduce a factor of [- l] m in defining
the associated Legendre polynomials, producing a corresponding difference in
the spherical harmonics.2 There are €-ra nodes in the 6 coordinate, and none in
the 0 coordinate.
The angular equation requires X = €(€ + 1) where€is a positive integer. Using
this value for A the radial equation of Eq. (2.5) can be written as
d2R 2 dR [\ 2 €(€
v + 1)1
} n A
— 2 «- + + \2W + 2o
\R = 0. (2.9)
dr r dr [ r r \ '

We now convert the radial equation to the standard form of the coulomb problem
by introducing p{f), which is defined by3 R{r) = p(r)/r. With this substitution the
radial equation of Eq. (2.9) may be written as
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 15

CD
LLJ

Fig. 2.4 Coulomb and centrifugal potentials (—) which are summed to give the effective
radial potential (—) in which an electron of angular momentum € moves.

The terms in the square brackets of Eq. (2.10) have the significance shown in Fig.
2.4: 2/r is twice the coulomb potential of the electron, [€(€+l)]/r2 is twice the
centrifugal potential, and 2Wis twice the total energy. The sum in the brackets is
2T, where Tis the radial kinetic energy of the electron. In the classically allowed
region T > 0, and Eq. (2.10) has two independent oscillatory solutions much like
sines and cosines. On the other hand, in the classically forbidden region T < 0,
and the solutions to Eq. (2.10) are increasing and decreasing exponential
functions.
Since Eq. (2.10) is a second order equation it has two independent solutions.
The two solutions of most use in solving our problem are 4

and (2.11)

The / and g functions are commonly termed the regular and irregular coulomb
functions.4'5 In the classically allowed region the / and g functions are real
16 Rydberg atoms

oscillatory functions with a phase difference of 90 degrees. In the classically

forbidden regions they are increasing or decreasing exponentials.
To find the solutions of the radial equation the forms of the/and g functions as
r —> 0 and r —> oo are useful. For W > 0 and W < 0, as r-» 0
/(W,€,r) < * /+ 1 (2.12a)
and
g(WAr) <* r~e. (2.12b)
From Fig. 2.4 it is apparent that the small r behavior is not very energy dependent,
because T is very large, except for very high angular momentum. For W < 0 we
introduce the effective quantum number v, defined by W = —1/2 v 2. For r—> oo
the / and g functions may be expressed in terms of increasing and decreasing
exponential functions w(v,€,r) and v(v,€,r). Asr—» oo? ^—> oo a n d v ^ 0, and/and
g are given by4
/ - > u(v,€,r) sin JTV - v(v,€,r)e^, (2.13a)
v+1/2
g^ -u(y,e,r) cos jrv + v(v,€,r) e>*( >. (2.13b)
For W > 0 and r —» oo the/and g functions are given by the oscillatory functions

/ - > (2/kjt)m sin f"fcr- jr€/2 + - €n{Her) + a J , (2.14a)

g-> -(2/kjt) 1/2 cos A:r - jr€/2 + - €n (2fcr) + aA , (2.14b)

where k = (2W)1/2 and a^ is the coulomb phase, a€ = arg F(€ + 1 - i/A:).

To find bound state solutions, W < 0, for the H atom we apply the r — 0 and
r = oo boundary conditions. Specifically we require that xp be finite as r—> 0 and
that xp—>0 as r—> oo. We can see from Eqs. (2.12) that only the/functions are
allowed due to the r = 0 boundary condition. As r-» oo we require that xp->0,
and, as indicated by the asymptotic form of the /function, this requirement is
equivalent to requiring that sin jtv be zero or that v be an integer. Combining the
angular function of Eq. (2.7) with the / radial function yields the bound H
wavefunction

7
^ , (2.15)

where the radial function is assumed to be normalized. Normalization procee-

dures will be discussed shortly. Since W = —1/2v 2 and v must be a positive integer
/i, we recover the familiar expression for the allowed energies,

W — £. (2.16)
If the radial equation is solved by using the more conventional power series
solution,2 the two mathematically allowed solutions for R(r) have leading terms
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 17

-1.0
4 6 8 10 12 14

Fig. 2.5 Schematic coulomb potential of H ( ) and VNa(r), the effective one-electron
potential of Na, ( ) which is different from the coulomb potential only at small r (from
ref. 1).

proportional to / and r € 1.Ther € l solution, the irregular coulomb function,

is discarded since it diverges at the origin and does not satisfy the r=0 boundary
condition. The r —> o° boundary condition imposes the requirement that the series
terminate, which in turn requires that W = -l/2n2, where n is an integer. The
power series solution also shows that, the radial function Rne(r) has n — € nodes. If
we choose solutions for Rn^(r) oc / at r ~ 0, the outer lobe of the wavefunction
changes sign as either n or € is increased by one.
The above treatment of H, based on coulomb waves, may be easily extended to
generate wavefunctions for single valence electron atoms with spherical ionic
cores. This approach, quantum defect theory,5 enables us to generate wave
functions which are good when the valence electron is outside the ionic core. We
first recall the difference between a Na atom and a H atom, the replacement of the
point charge of the proton by the finite sized ionic core of the Na atom. Far from
the Na + core the potential experienced by the valence electron is indistinguish-
able from the coulomb potential due to a proton. However, at small orbital radii,
where the outer electron can penetrate the ten electron cloud of the Na + core, the
Na potential is deeper than the coulomb potential. Since the Na + core is
spherically symmetric, and we assume it to be frozen in place, the effective
potential, VNa seen by the valence electron is spherically symmetric and depends
only on r. When the coulomb - Vr potential of Eq. (2.2) is replaced by y Na (r),Eq.
(2.2) is still separable, and the angular equation, Eq. (2.6), and its solutions, Eq.
(2.7), are unchanged. Consequently the Na wavefunction analogous to the H
wavefunction of Eq. (2.15) differs only in its radial function.
In Fig. 2.5 we show in a schematic way the coulomb —llr potential and the
effective potential VNa(r) seen by the Rydberg electron in the Na atom. The effect
18 Rydberg atoms

Hydrogen

Fig. 2.6 Wavefunctions of H and alkali atoms. The lower potential of the alkali introduces
the phase shift r, as shown, leading to the depression of the energies of alkali, low € states
relative to those of H (from ref. 1).

of the lower potential at small r seen by the valence electron in Na is to increase its
kinetic energy and decrease the wavelength of the radial oscillations relative to H.
In Na all the nodes of the radial wavefunction are pulled closer to the origin than in
H, as shown by Fig. 2.6. For r > r0, the radius of the Na+ core, the Na potential is
equal to the coulomb potential. Thus in this region the wavefunction is simply
shifted in phase from the H wavefunction. The magnitude of the radial phase shift
is the difference in momentum of an electron of energy Win Na and H integrated
from r = 0 to r0. For an s electron, the phase shift r relative to H can be written as

T= )[w-VNa(r)]1/z-\W+-\ V2dr. (2.17)

Jo I L r\ }
The terms in the square brackets are the kinetic energies of the electron in Na and
H. If we replace VNa(r) by — \lr — Vd(r), where Vd is the difference between the
Na and H potentials, and take advantage of the fact that for r < r0 the kinetic
energy is large so that llr » Wand Vd(r), we can expand Eq. (2.17). Keeping the
first order term in the expansion leads to
\l/2

Thus r, the radial phase shift, is independent of the energy W as long as

\W\ « l/r0. A phase shift of r in the radial wave from H implies that for r> r0, the
pure /wave of the H wavefunction of Eq. (2.15) is replaced by /(W,€,r)cos
r - g(W,€,r) sin r, and the bound state radial wavefunctions are given by
p(r) = /(W,€,r) cosr - g(W,€,r) sin r. (2.19)
The hydrogenic requirement that the wavefunction be finite at the origin has
been replaced by the requirement that at r > r0 the wavefunction be shifted in
phase from the hydrogenic wavefunction by r. This new boundary condition
necessitates g functions as well as the regular / functions in the coulomb r > r0
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 19

region. We note that the wavefunction that we generate is only good for r > r0.
We have no knowledge about the Na potential for r<r0 save the fact that it
produces at r = r0 a wave phase shifted from the analogous H solution by r, as is
shown in Fig. 2.6. The requirement that ip —> 0 as r —> oo is equivalent to requiring
that the coefficient of u(v,£,r) be zero. This requirement leads to
cos z sin Jtv + sin r cos nv = 0, (2.20)
or sin (nv + r) = 0. Thus JIV + r must be an integral multiple of 7t, and v = n — tin
where n is an integer. The effective quantum number v of a Na state of angular
momentum € differs from an integer by an amount T/JZ which we recognize as the
quantum defect d€. Since r is independent of W, the quantum defect (5€ of a series
of €states is a constant. Due to the €(€+ lyir1 centrifugal potential, in the higher
(, states the electron does not sample the small r part of the potential as much, and
the quantum defects are smaller. As the radial wavefunctions for nonhydrogenic
atoms obey the same r^> <*> boundary condition they are similar to hydrogenic
wavefunctions at large r, but they do have different energies.
Replacing the/radial function of Eq. (2.15) by the radial function of Eq. (2.19)
leads to a wavefunction for a nonhydrogenic atom valid for r > r0. Explicitly,
,r) cos jtd€ - g(W,l,r) sin jcde] ^
r
which has the allowed energies

where n is an integer. A point which is worth keeping in mind is that we have not
considered core polarization in obtaining the wavefunction of Eq. (2.21a). Due to
the long range of a polarization potential, it is not possible to define a value of r0
such that for r > r0 the potential is a coulumb potential.
An important property of the wavefunction is its normalization, and we have
yet to normalize the radial coulomb radial functions. Following the approach of
Merzbacher, we can find an approximate WKB radial wavefunction, good in the
classically allowed region, given by6
Nsin I' kdr'
P(r) = 77= > ( 2 - 22 )

where N is a normalization constant, r{ is the inner classical turning point and

k = V2T, the square root of twice the kinetic energy. The factor of Vifc in the
denominator reflects the fact that the amplitude of the wavefunction is larger
where the electron is moving more slowly. In the classically allowed region
between the inner and outer turning points, r{ and ro,
?_£C^l). (2.23)
20 Rydberg atoms

We can use the wavefunction of Eq. (2.22) to obtain an approximate normaliz-

ation for the bound Rydberg states. Specifically we require that
C2JZ [IT Cr

° V' V^dr sin OdOdcj) = 1, (2.24)

JO JO Jn
where
rUo = n2±n V n 2 - € ( € + l), (2.25)
the plus and minus signs corresponding to ro and rh respectively. Since the angular
part of the wavefunction is normalized, Eq. (2.24) reduces to
' p\r)dr=l. (2.26)

Explicitly, Eq. (2.26) can be written as

sin2 f kdr'dr
K2 r° , : ... • , , = !• (2.27)
r2
Approximating sin2 Jrr. kdr' by its average value 1/2 reduces the integral over r to
one which is easily done, with the result

(2.28a)
Tin
or

<22Sb)
-
The normalization constant decreases as l/n3/2. At small r, the wavefunction's
only dependence on energy is through the normalization constant.
For W> 0, the Rydberg electron is no longer in a bound state but in the
continuum. In developing a wavefunction for the continuum we realize that the
r-^> oo boundary condition has been removed; only the r —> 0 boundary condition
remains. For H, the r=0 boundary condition excludes the g function so
p(W,e9r)=f(WAr). (2.29)
For Na or any other atom, the r —> 0 boundary condition of H is replaced by the
requirement that at r > r0 the wavefunction is a wave phase shifted from the
coulomb wave by r;
p(W,€,r) = f(W,e,r) cos r - g(W,(,r) sin r. (2.30)
As r —» oo the wavefunctions are oscillatory sine and cosine functions, as shown
by Eqs. (2.14). For small r the wavefunctions of the continuum are functionally
identical to the bound wavefunctions, differing only in their normalization. Since
continuum waves extend to r = oo they cannot be normalized in the same way as a
bound state wavefunction. We shall normalize the continuum waves per unit
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 21

energy. This is one of several options, and we shall return to the reasons for this
choice. If we again take advantage of the fact that the angular part of the
wavefunction is normalized, the continuum normalization requirement is 2
Too CW+AW
pW)dr\ Pw,(r)dW' = l. (2.31)
JO JW-AW

It is easier to work out the normalization integral for normalization per unit
wavenumber2
Ck+Ak
p%{r)dr\ pk,(r)dk' = l. (2.32)
0 J k-Ak
The normalization integral is dominated by the contribution from r^> o°where k
is a constant. To determine the normalization we use the WKB form of a
continuum wave, also given by Eq. (2.21). If we take advantage of the fact that the
dominant contribution to the integral comes from large r, where k is independent

r
of r, we can express Eq. (2.32) as

k-Ak
where we have written the wavefunction normalized per unit wavenumber as
(2.34)

Nk being the normalization constant to be determined. The equivalent wavefunc-

tion normalized per unit energy is

^ (2.35)

The integral of Eq. (2.33) is easily reduced to

Nl~=l- (2.36)

The energy and wavenumber normalization constants are related by the deriva-
tive dW/dk. Explicitly,2

N2k = N2w^=N2wk. (2.37)

ak
Using Eqs. (2.36) and (2.37) we calculate Nw, yielding the wavefunction normal-
ized per unit energy. Explicitly,

Pw(r)= p-sin \rkdr'. (2.38)

ynk jri
We note that this wavefunction differs from the bound state wavefunctions by a
factor of n~3/2. The factor of n~3/2 is, in essence, the factor obtained by converting
22 Rydberg atoms

from normalization per unit energy to normalization per unit state. The conver-
sion of the normalization integral requires the factor dW/dn =
d(-l/2n2)/dn = n~3. Explicitly,

(^ N2wn~\ (2.39)

Many of the properties of Rydberg atoms depend on the wavefunction in the

r > r0 region where the potential is simply a coulomb potential. In this region we
can very easily calculate the wavefunction numerically using the Numerov
method, which can be applied to an equation of the form7

^ = g(x)Y(x). (2.40)

If x increases in steps of size h, then the basic equation of the Numerov method
7
is
[1 - T(x + h)]Y(x + h) + [1-T(x - h)]Y(x -h) = [2 + 10r(*)]Y(x) + O(h6),
(2.41)
where T(x) = h2g(x)/12. If we ignore the terms of order h6 and if we know Y(x)
and Y(x — h) we can calculate Y(x + h), since everything else is known.
Zimmerman et al.8 calculated bound state radial functions and matrix elements
starting from Eq. (2.9). To remove the first derivative they made the substitutions
x = €n (r) (2.42a)
and
Y(x) = RVr, (2.42b)
yielding a radial equation in the form of Eq. (2.40) with

g(x) = 2c2* (— - w) + ( € + | ) 2 . (2.43)

In addition to transforming the radial equation to the Numerov form, the

transformation also changes the scale to one more nearly matching the frequency
of the oscillations of the radial function. For bound functions, the wavelength of
the wavefunction increases with r, and the substitution x = €n(r) keeps the
number of points per lobe closer to being constant.
We start in the classically forbidden region, r > 2n2, and decrease r to r ~ 0. We
follow this procedure since we know that as r —> °° the physically interesting
solution to the coulomb equation is a decaying exponential. Successive values of r
are given by r} = r s e~ jh , where rs is the starting radius (typically rs = 2n(n + 15))
and h is the logarithmic step size, which is usually chosen to be 0.01. As the index;
is increased r decreases. As can be seen from Eq. (2.41), we need to specify the
values of Y at two adjacent points, corresponding to / = 0 and 1. At r = rs the
wavefunction is a factor of 1010 smaller than at the classical turning point, so a
good estimate for Y(0), corresponding to / = 0, is 10~10. The value of Y(h),
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 23

corresponding toy = 1, must only be larger than the value of Y(0) to approximate
the decaying exponential. The orthogonal, nonphysical solution to the coulomb
equation diverges as r—> oo. Thus as we decrease r, toward r = 0, the wrong
solution is exponentially damped. The wavefunction can be calculated to the inner
turning point or to the radius of the ion core whichever is encountered sooner. The
calculation must be stopped at this point, since for all nonzero quantum defects
the g part of the wave function will begin to exhibit its small r, r~~€(€+1) behavior
and diverge. The above procedure generates a wavefunction which is not
normalized. Its normalization integral is given by 8

(2.44)

With this normalization integral it is possible to generate either a normalized

wavefunction, by converting Y(x) back to R(r), or matrix elements between two
bound wavefunctions. The Numerov technique described above assumes that the
outermost lobe is positive, which gives wavefunctions for n — I even with the signs
reversed from the usual convention that the functional form at small r is
independent ofn.
Matrix elements of r a between two wavefunctions, i.e. (llr 0 ^), may be
calculated by carrying out the Numerov procedure for two radial wavefunctions at
the same time. The procedure must be started at the appropriate starting point for
the higher energy of the two wavefunctions. For concreteness, let us say 11) has the
higher energy. The normalization integral N\ = XY\\<r\ is accumulated until the
appropriate starting point for the second wavefunction is reached. At this point
we begin to accumulate the second normalization integral N\ = 2Y2krk a s w e ^ a s
the matrix element R^2 — ^Y^^^C0 - The matrix element is thus given by8
12

An alternative, physically appealing way of calculating the bound wavefunc-

tions was used by Bhatti et al.9 In the classically allowed region, the kinetic energy
of the electron is given approximately by 1/r, thus the wavelength of the
wavefunction varies as Vr. If we make the substitution x = Vr and increment x by
a uniform step size /z, we should always have nearly the same number of steps in
each lobe of the wavefunction. Making the substitutions
x = Vr (2.46a)
and
Y(x) = r3/4R(r) (2.46b)
leads to the following form of the radial equation

d2
Y(x) = SY(x). (2.47)
dx x
24 Rydberg atoms

In this case g(x) is given by

g(x) = - 8 - Wx2 + 4J , (2.48)

and the solution has nearly the same number of points in each lobe of the radial
wavefunction.
Using either of the above approaches it is straightforward to calculate bound
wavefunctions and bound-bound matrix elements. Occasionally, though, we
need continuum functions, which we cannot generate in the same way. As r—» o°
the physically significant linear combination of/and g waves, i.e. /cos x — g sin r
is not a decaying exponential, but a sinusoidally varying wave phase shifted from
the hydrogenic / wave by r. Therefore the easiest way to calculate these
wavefunctions is to begin at the origin with an approximation to the regular /
function, which is proportional to r €+1, and calculate the wavefunction out to a
point where the coulomb potential is negligible compared to the kinetic energy.
At this point the wavefunction is simply a sine wave of constant amplitude.
Introducing a phase shift of r towards the origin produces the desired coulomb
wave at large r which may then be numerically propagated to small r as r is
decreased to zero. 10 The wavefunction is normalized by requiring that the
amplitude of the sine wave be \Znl2k. Explicitly, we start with the radial equation
for p, Eq. (2.10), which is already in the Numerov form. The Numerov substi-
tutions for Eq. (2.40) which give the same number of points per lobe as r —» o° are
x=r (2.49a)
and
Y(x) = p, (2.49b)
yielding
| ? j (2.50)
Using the procedures outlined above we may calculate bound and continuum
wavefunctions as well as matrix elements of rCT, for a^O, These wavefunctions are
often called coulomb wavefunctions, and properties calculated using them are
said to be obtained in the coulomb approximation. In addition, we can calculate
matrix elements of inverse powers of r for H. We cannot calculate with confidence
matrix elements of inverse powers of r for anything but H since the inverse r
matrix elements weight r ~ 0 heavily and the results can be highly dependent on
the radius at which we truncate the sums of Eq. (2.45).
From their wavefunctions, we can infer some of the properties of Rydberg
atoms. We begin by estimating the expectation values of r°where a is a positive or
negative integer. The expectation values of r°, a > 0, are determined mostly by
the location of the outer classical turning point, r = 2n2. Since the electron spends
most of its time there, a good estimate for the expectation values of r°, a > 0, is
 Rydberg atom wavefunctions 25

Table 2.3. Expectation values ofxafor H."

- € ( € •+ D]

= «! [ 5 n 2 + 1 -• 3 € ( €H
H)]

= l/n2
1
ni(( + 1/2)
1
-h l/2)€
ni{€ +
! ) ( « •

;€ + i)
2n\t + 3/2)(€ + 1)(€ + l/2)€(€ - 1/2)
n 6, = 35 ^ 4 - 5n2[6€(€ + 1) - 5] + 3(1 + 2)(€ + !)€(€ - 1)
V 7 v
8« (€ + 5/2)(€ + 2)(€ + 3/2)(€ + 1)(€ + l/2)€(€ - l/2)(€ - 1)(€ - 3/2)

a
(fromrefs. 2, 11)

Table 2.4. Properties of Rydberg atoms.0

Property n dependence Na(lOd)

Binding energy n~2 0.14 eV

Energy between adjacent n states n~3 0.023 eV
Orbital radius n2 147 a0
Geometric cross section nA 68 000 a02
Dipole moment (nd\er\nf) n2 143 ea0
Polarizability n1 0.21 MHz cm2/V2
Radiative lifetime n3 1.0 jus
Fine-structure interval n~3 —92 MHz

"(fromref. 1)

{r°)~ n2°. (2.51)

If we are interested in inverse powers of r, o < — 1, it is the behavior of the small
r part of the wavefunction which is important, and therefore the precise value of
the quantum defect is critical. However, at small r, for n » €, the only energy, or
v, dependence is on the normalization, and thus
(r-°) ocn~3 (2.52)
3
While the n~ scaling of the expectation values of inverse powers of r is evident,
the precise values are not. For future use we give in Table 2.3 expectation values
for H of (r°)which have been determined analytically. 211
26 Rydberg atoms

Using combinations of radial matrix elements and energy separations it is

possible to deduce the n scaling of many properties of Rydberg atoms. For
example, the polarizability is proportional to the sum of squares of electric dipole
matrix elements divided by energy denominators, and it is dominated by the
contributions from a few nearby levels. The dipole matrix elements between
neighboring levels scale as the orbital radius, as n2, while the energy differences
scale as n~3, yielding polarizabilities that scale as n7. Analogous reasoning allows
us to develop scaling laws for many of the properties of Rydberg atoms. Table 2.4
is a short list of representative properties which shows several ways in which
Rydberg atoms differ substantially from ground state atoms.

References
1. T. F. Gallagher, Rep. Prog. Phys. 51, 143 (1988).
2. H. A. Bethe and E. A. Salpeter, Quantum Mechanics of One and Two Electron Atoms
(Academic Press, New York, 1957).
3. M. Abromowitz and LA. Stegun, Handbook of Mathematical Functions (Dover, New York
1972).
4. U. Fano Phys. Rev. A 2, 353 (1970).
5. M. J. Seaton, Rep. Prog. Phys. 46,167 (1983).
6. E. Merzbacher, Quantum Mechanics (Wiley, New York, 1961).
7. J. M. Blatt, /. Comput. Phys. 1, 382 (1967).
8. M. L. Zimmerman, M. G. Littman, M. M. Kash, and D. Kleppner, Phys. Rev. A 20, 2251
(1979).
9. S. A. Bhatti, C. L. Cromer, and W. E. Cooke, Phys. Rev. A 24,161 (1981).
10. W. P. Spencer, A. G. Vaidyanathan, D. Kleppner, and T. W. Ducas, Phys. Rev. A 26, 1490
(1982).
11. B. Edlen, in Handbuch der Physik (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1964).
 3
Production of Rydberg atoms

The original method of studying Rydberg atoms was by absorption spectroscopy,

and it remains a generally useful technique. For example, the quasi-Landau
resonances were first observed by Garton and Tomkins using absorption
spectroscopy.1 Many variants have been developed in which a dye laser is used to
populate an excited state preferentially, allowing the absorption spectrum of the
atoms in the excited state to be recorded.2"4 However, most of the modern work
on Rydberg atoms has been carried out using methods in which the Rydberg
atoms themselves are detected. Rydberg atoms may be detected in two general
ways. First, since they are optically excited, they decay radiatively to low lying
states, emitting visible fluorescence, which is conveniently detected using photo-
multiplier tubes. Second, in a Rydberg atom the valence electron is in a large,
weakly bound orbit, and as a result it is very easy to ionize the atom by either
collisional ionization or field ionization, after which either the ion or the electron
produced is easily detected.

Excitation to the Rydberg states

Rydberg atoms have been produced by charge exchange, electron impact, and
photoexcitation, the processes
A + + B ^ A n€ + B+ (3.1a)
e" + A ^ A n€ + e" (3.1b)
hv + A->A nt, (3.1c)
as well as by techniques in which both collisional and optical excitation are used.
Although combining collisional and optical excitation has proven to be very
effective, we shall for the moment consider the three processes of Eqs. (3.1)
separately. Charge exchange has been used to convert ion beams to fast beams of
Rydberg atoms, and many of the techniques are described by Koch.5 Thermal
beams of Rydberg atoms have been made by electron impact or optical excitation
of beams of ground state atoms, and many of the relevant considerations are
described by Ramsey.6 It is also possible to produce thermal Rydberg atoms in
cells. Cells of glass or quartz are useful for containing permanent gases or low
densities (~10"5 Torr) of alkali atoms, and cells similar to optical pumping cells

27
28 Rydberg atoms

described by Happer7 have often been used in fluorescence experiments. To

contain higher densities (~ 1 Torr) of alkali or alkaline earth atoms heat pipe
ovens, as described by Vidal and Cooper,8 are often used.
The cross sections for all three of the processes of Eqs. (3.1) scale as n~3, which
may be easily understood. Consider, for example, electron impact excitation of
He. If an electron of energy Wo impinges upon a ground state He atom it has a total
cross section, aI(W0), for exciting the He atom from the ground state. Subsequent
to excitation the final state of the He atom is an excited He atom or a He + ion and a
free electron. The probability of these outcomes is represented by daI(W0)/dW,
where W is the energy of the electron ejected from the He atom. W < 0
corresponds to the "ejected" electron remaining in a bound state of He, and W > 0
corresponds to ionization of the He. In general, do^/dWis a smooth function of W.
More important, there is no fundamental difference between W > 0 and W < 0.
The collision process occurs when the electrons are within a short range, <10A, of
the He + core, and at these distances there is almost no difference between the
kinetic energies of a Rydberg electron and a free electron. As a result the
differential cross section doj/dW passes smoothly from W > 0 to W < 0.
In general oY depends on the energy, Wo, of the incident electron. However,
once Wo isfixedit is a good approximation to assume that da I(W0)/dWis constant
for W ~ 0 and given by

(3-2)

Below the limit, W < 0, the energy is no longer a continuous variable, and it is
more useful to write the cross section per principal quantum number

a(«, Wo) = — = • — = —> (3.3)

dn dW dn n

showing the n 3 dependence of the cross section for the production of Rydberg
states.
Another way of seeing the n scaling is the following. Prior to the collision the He
atom is compact, having a radius of approximately 1 A. Immediately after the
collision the Rydberg electron is in its large orbit, which has a density at the origin
scaling asri~3.Thus when the initial state is projected onto the final state in the
excitation process, it is hardly surprising that the cross section has an n~ 3
dependence.
Similar arguments apply to charge exchange and photoexcitation, and the basic
result is the same; the cross section for the production of Rydberg atoms is the
continuation below the limit of the ionization cross section, leading to an n~ 3
dependence of the excitation cross section.
 Electron impact 29

^DETECTION
f GRIDS
kV/cm

HIGH RYDBERGS

EXTRACTOR
l5V/cm 8
ANALYZER
PLATES
0-l5kV/cm

ELECTROSTATIC
SHIELD 0
. 2 4cm
MAGNETIC
SHIELD

Fig. 3.1 Apparatus for electron beam excitation of rare gas atoms (from ref. 9).

Electron impact

Schiavone et al. have measured the cross sections for the production of Rydberg
states of rare gases using the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.1. 9 1 0 Rydberg states of
rare gas atoms are formed by electron impact by a pulsed electron beam in the
source filled with 10~5 Torr of rare gas. Some of the Rydberg atoms formed travel
towards the detector, which ionizes all atoms which can be ionized by a 12 kV/cm
field and detects the resulting ions. The distribution of Rydberg states reaching
the detector is affected by several processes, the excitation from the ground state,
€ changing collisions produced by the electron beam, and radiative decay of the
Rydberg atoms during the flight from the exciting electron beam to the detector.
To extract the excitation cross section they first measured the number of Rydberg
atoms reaching the detector as a function of ionizing field by varying the voltage
on the analyzer plates shown in Fig. 3.1. The observed Rydberg atom signals as a
function offieldwere converted to n distributions by making several assumptions.
First they assumed that the excitation cross section scales as n~3. Second, they
assumed the radiative lifetime to be given by r ^ 3 , r1 being a constant. Finally,
ionization was assumed to occur at the classical field,
E=l/16n\ (3.4)
Using these assumptions they could then fit their data to determine excitation
cross sections, a(n, Wo), for the excitation of a Rydberg state of principal quantum
number n by an electron of energy Wo. They found the values of o[(W0) given in
30 Rydberg atoms

Table 3.1. Electron impact cross sections

for the excitation of rare gas Rydberg
states for the electron energy at the peak
of the cross section and 100 eV.a

Electron
energy Wo
Rare gas (eV) (A2)
He 70 0.77
He 100 0.67
Ne 60 0.63
Ne 100 0.61
Ar 28 6.5
Ar 100 1.5
Kr 20 4.0
Kr 100 2.0
Xe 20 10.0
Xe 100 4.6

fl
(fromref. 10).

Table 3.1 for the rare gas atoms. 10Our o[(W0) corresponds to oex(n = 1, E) in the
notation of Schiavone et al.10. For a typical value of o'(Wo) — 1 A, the cross section
a(20, Wo) for exciting an n = 20 state is 1.25 x 10~4 A2.
An interesting aspect of electron impact excitation noted by Schiavone et al.10 is
that the electrons play two roles. First, they excite the ground state atoms to
Rydberg states. Second, they collisionally redistribute the atoms initially excited
to low € states over all € states, including the long lived high € states. The
production of high € states allows the detection of n states which would normally
not live long enough to reach the detector. The cross section for € changing
collisions by electrons is so large, ~106 A2 , that only at low currents does the
observed signal depend on the electron current in an obviously nonlinear way. At
higher electron currents the € mixing is so saturated that the signal is linear in the
electron current. Electron impact excitation has also been used in a long series of
experiments by Wing and MacAdam11 to measure the A€intervals of He Rydberg
states by radio frequency spectroscopy. The fact that there are observable
population differences makes it clear that electron collisions do not produce a
thermal population distribution on the time scale of the radiative decay of the
Rydberg states in these experiments.
In sum, electron impact excitation has the advantages of relative simplicity and
generality, and it has the disadvantages of being inefficient and nonselective, with
nearly all energetically possible states being produced.
 Charge exchange 31

ion labelling
ion ^ H+ charge Hni
•—.
source r exchange
deflector field
H+ .

Fig. 3.2 The fast beam approach of Bayfield and Koch (ref. 13). H + ions of roughly 10 keV
energy pass through a charge exchange cell forming a fast beam of H Rydberg atoms.
Down-stream from the charge exchange cell the ions are deflected from the beam and a
band of n states is selected by a square wave modulated ionization field.

Charge exchange

Charge exchange of H + and He + with various target gases has been used to
produce fast beams of Rydberg atoms since the first experiments of Riviere and
Sweetman.12 The method of producing fast Rydberg H atoms used by Bayfield
and Koch13 in their initial experiment to study the microwave ionization of
Rydberg atoms is shown schematically in Fig. 3.2. The 10 keV protons from an ion
source pass through a charge exchange cell filled with Xe, where some of the
protons are converted to fast Rydberg atoms.
The distribution of product states of charge exchange of ions with incident
energy Wo is described by da^(W0)/dW, where W is the energy of the Rydberg
electron in the neutral product atom and crL(Wo) is the total electron loss cross
section. As in Eq. (3.3), we can write the charge exchange cross section for the
population of a specific n state as

(3.5)
n
where oi(W0) = daL(W0)/dW|w=0.
In Table 3.2 we give representative values of a^(Wo).14"16 Only a small fraction
of the incident ions which undergo collisions with the gas in the charge exchange
cell will be left in any particular Rydberg state. For n = 10 the fraction is <10~3,
and for n = 30 it is <10~4. If the number density of the charge exchange gas is N
and the length of the cell is L, in principle the charge exchange cell can be
operated with NLo^ ~ 1, so that nearly all the ions in the beam undergo charge
exchange. In fact it is usually not possible to use such a thick target since it will
scatter the fast neutral atoms into large enough angles to remove them from the
beam. Since the cross section for scattering atoms out of the beam is ~ 1 A2, the
cell must be operated at a density length product low enough that the Rydberg
atoms produced are not scattered out of the beam.
The Rydberg states produced in the cell by charge exchange can be collisionally
depopulated by subsequent collisions with the target gas. In the charge exchange
collision, it is presumably low € states which are populated, by virtue of the
overlap of their wavefunctions with the ground state wavefunction at the origin. In
32 Rydberg atoms

Table 3.2. Values of the charge exchange

cross section for protons on several vapor
targets.

Incident energy
Target (keV) (A2)
Xefl 20 10
Kr" 20 9
Ar" 20 4
Ar* 30 3.3
He* 20 0.4
He c 60 0.6
H/ 60 1.1
N2C 60 2.5
CO 2 C 60 3.8

"(seeref. 14)
^(seeref. 15)
c
(see ref. 16)

thermal collisions it has been observed that the cross sections for €and m changing
collisions are large, 1718 with values for Xe reaching 105 A2 at n = 20, and
minimum values >20 A 2 . These cross sections are far larger than crL, so it is likely
that efficient charge exchange is accompanied by collisions which populate high €
and m states. Thermal energy cross sections for changing n are smaller than the €
changing cross sections, with typical values of —10 A 2 . Since virtually all n states
are populated, some further redistribution over n has no significant effect.
In sum it is reasonable to expect a distribution of n£m states from charge
exchange, with n~3 scaling of the population in each n. Such a distribution of states
must be filtered in some way before it is useful in an experiment. A good way is the
method used by Bayfield and Koch and shown in Fig. 3.2.13 The Rydberg atoms
pass between two field plates, which produce a modulated field to select a band of
n states by field ionization. The field required to ionize a state of principal
quantum number n is given by an expression similar to Eq. (3.4). If the field is
switched between Ex and E2 with E2< Ex, atoms in states of n > nt or n2 are
ionized by the field. Thus the difference in signal obtained with E = E x and E = E2
must be due to atoms with nx<n<n2. Using a field switched between 28.5 and
41.0 V/cm, Bayfield and Koch selected the band 63 < n < 69 for the first
experiments with microwave ionization. 13

Optical excitation

Optical excitation differs from collisional excitation in a fundamental way; the

exciting photon is absorbed by the target atom. As a result, specifying the energy
 Optical excitation 33

-300 -200 -100

W (cm"1)
Fig. 3.3 Excitation spectrum of the Na ns and nd states from the Na 3p3/2 state (from
ref. 19).

of the absorbed photon specifies the Rydberg state produced. In contrast,

specifying the energy of an incoming electron does not specify the energy of the
Rydberg state produced because there is no way to control how the energy is
shared between the incident electron and the electron which is excited to the
Rydberg state.
In spite of the above difference from collisional excitation, photoexcitation has
the similarity of having a cross section with an n~3 dependence. This cross section
is simply the continuation of the photoionization cross section from above the
limit, W > 0, to below the limit, W < 0. This point is demonstrated experimentally
by Fig. 3.3, the excitation spectrum of the Na ns and nd states from the 3p3/2
state.19 The signal, or the cross section, is apparently the same just above and just
below the limit, in spite of the fact that the electron is photoionized in the former
case and excited to a bound Rydberg state in the latter. Only when n < 40 is the
instrumental resolution adequate for resolved Rydberg series to appear in the
spectrum, and for n < 30 the ns and nd Rydberg states are clearly resolved and
increase in intensity with decreasing n. A useful way to describe photoexcitation is
to specify oPi, the photoexcitation cross section in the vicinity of the ionization
limit, W = 0. Above the limit the photoionization cross section is given by crPI.
Below the limit, the cross section averaged over an integral number of n states
equals crPI. The cross section a(n) for exciting a resolved Rydberg state is given by
34 Rydberg atoms

Table 3.3. Photoionization cross sections

at threshold (W = 0).a

Wavelength aPI
Atom (A) (10"18 cm2)

H 912 6.3
Li 2299 1.8
Na 2412 0.125
K 2856 0.007
Rb 2968 0.10
Cs 3184 0.20
Mg 1621 1.18
Ca 2028 0.45
Sr 2177 3.6
fl
(fromref. 20)

tfpi
a(n) = (3.6)
AWnr
where AW is the energy resolution of the excitation. The cross section for exciting
the Rydberg state is the photoionization cross section times the ratio of the An
energy interval to the experimental resolution.
In most optical excitations the resolution is determined by the Doppler effect or
the finite linewidth of the light source. The Doppler effect gives a typical
frequency width of 1 GHz, and the width of the light source can be anywhere from
1 kHz to 30 GHz. We assume that these widths are larger than the radiative width.
The photoionization cross sections from the ground states of H, alkali, and the
alkaline earth atoms are given in Table 3.3. 20
The most widely used method of optically exciting Rydberg atoms is to use a
pulsed dye laser pumped by a N 2 or NdrYAG laser. It is straightforward to
generate visible laser pulses 5 ns long with 100 juJ energies and 1 cm" 1 bandwidths.
Such a pulse contains ~ 3 x 10 14 photons, and, if collimated into a beam of cross
sectional area 10~ 2 cm 2 , it has an integrated photon flux of 10 16 cm" 2 . At n = 20
the An spacing is —28 cm" 1, and with a resolution of 1 cm" 1, the cross section of Eq.
(3.6) is a factor of 28 larger than the photoionization cross section. Using 10~ 18
cm 2 as the photoionization cross section we find a probability of 10% for exciting
atoms exposed to a photon flux of 10 1 6 cm" 2 to the n = 20 state.
A typical example of the pulsed dye laser excitation is the beam experiment
shown in Fig. 3.4 in which Na atoms in a thermal beam are excited in two steps
from the ground state 3s to the 3p state with a yellow dye laser photon and from
the 3p state to a high lying ns or nd state with a second, blue photon. 2 1
Using continuous wave (cw) laser excitation it is possible to excite atoms with
substantially higher efficiency than using pulsed lasers. For example a single mode
laser of 1 MHz linewidth has a resolution 3 x 104 better than the pulsed laser
 Collisional-optical excitation 35

Fig. 3.4 Apparatus for the study of Rydberg states of alkali metal atoms: a, the atomic beam
source; b, the electricfieldplates; c, the pulsed laser beams; and d, the electron multiplier
(fromref. 21).

described above. Accordingly, for single photon excitation the resolution limited
cross section can be 3xlO4 times larger if the excitation is done so as to avoid
Doppler broadening. Examples of such an excitation are the experiments of
Zollars et al.22 using a frequency doubled cw dye laser to excite a beam of Rb
ground state atoms to the np states and the experiments of Fabre et al23 in which
they used a cw dye laser and diode lasers to excite Na nf states.

Collisional-optical excitation

Purely optical excitation is possible for alkali and alkaline earth atoms. For most
other atoms the transition from the ground state to any other level is at too short a
wavelength to be useful. To produce Rydberg states of such atoms a combination
of collisional and optical excitation is quite effective. A good example is the study
of the Rydberg states of Xe by Stebbings et al24 As shown in Fig. 3.5, a thermal
beam of Xe atoms is excited by electron impact, and a reasonable fraction of the
excited atoms is left in the metastable state. Downstream from the electron
excitation the atoms in the metastable state are excited to a Rydberg state by
pulsed dye laser excitation.
Metastable atoms have also been used as the starting point for laser excitation in
cell experiments. Devos et al.25 used metastable He atoms in the stationary
36 Rydberg atoms

Laser beam |
in
collector
\

Fused quartz
window^ ^ v^^ z ~ Surface

detector

Mirror

-Charged particle
j ^ deflector

Vacuum wall
Neutral beam
source
Fig. 3.5 Schematic diagram of the apparatus using electron impact excitation to the Xe
metastable state followed by laser excitation to Rydberg states (from ref. 24).

afterglow of a pulsed discharge as the starting point for pulsed laser excitation to
high lying np states. They observed the time and wavelength resolved fluor-
escence to determine the collision rate constants of the np states. An example in
which selective detection of the Rydberg atoms is not required is the optogalvanic
spectroscopy of Ba Rydberg states of Camus et al.26 They optically excited the
atoms from metastable levels produced in a discharge to high lying Rydberg
states. The Rydberg atoms are collisionally ionized and the resulting ions and
electrons alter the discharge current, a readily detectable signature of the
excitation of a Rydberg state.
In fast beams optical excitation has proven to be most useful. Since the fast
beams are low in intensity, but continuous, cw lasers have been used. Usually,
fixed frequency lasers have been used since fine tuning can be done using the Stark
shift or the Doppler shift of the fast beam. The Doppler shift can be used either by
changing the angle at which the laser beam and fast beam cross, or by altering the
velocity of the fast beam. An early example was the use of the uv line of an Ar laser
to drive transitions from the metastable H 2s state to the 40 < n < 55 np states.27 In
this particular case the velocity of the beam was changed to tune different np states
into resonance.
The most commonly used technique has been to use a CO 2 laser which has
about 20 lines at intervals of 1.3 cm"1 in each of the 9.6 and 10.6 jum bands. These
lines match the transition frequencies of n = 10 to n ~ 30 transitions, 28 and allow
efficient selective population of single states of n ~ 30. The essential notion is to
Exploring the Variety of Random
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Madame Bazan, una amable vieja, entre cincuenta y sesenta, recibió
con agrado á Mauricio.
—Con gran pesar mio—le dijo—me es imposible recibir á usted. Mi
pensionado es rigurosamente femenino y de familias en las que no
hay varones.
Capricho ó razon, por acuerdo general, los hombres están excluidos
de este gineceo, verdadera sucursal del antiguo Port Royal de
célebre memoria.
—¡Ah! lo deploro... Pero—insistió Mauricio—mi querida madame,
paréceme que siendo yo por mi contínua ausencia de la casa, un
huésped invisible, bien pudiera relajarse en mi favor, algo de ese
terrible rigorismo.
—Es verdad. Yo lo desearía, por lo menos. Pero ¿qué hacer? Así lo
quieren estas señoras. Son veinte, entre ancianas y jóvenes; ocupan
toda la casa: tienen, por lo tanto, derecho á vivir segun su gusto.
No obstante.... quizá pueda yo arreglarlo de algun modo.
Desde luego, y con sentimiento le digo que no puede ser V. mi
pensionista.
—Me contentaré con que usted me admita como inquilino invisible.
—Contando, desde ahora, con fuertes resistencias, voy sin embargo,
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solicitante, las razones por él expuestas.
Venga usted á verme mañana.—
 XI

Desde que lo vió llegar, madame Bazan tendió á Mauricio las manos.
—¡Triunfamos!—exclamó, con la espontánea alegría francesa.
—Reunido anoche mi areópago á la hora del té, expuse el caso con
todas sus atenuantes modificaciones.
¡Quién lo creyera! La seccion jóven fué á V. adversa.
¡Y dicen que la juventud es indulgente! ¡Qué error!
Apenas, las viejas, en mayoría, lograron triunfar, no sin el rigoroso
aditamento de—forzosa ausencia de la casa, desde primera hora
hasta la hora del sueño.
Venga usted á ver el cuarto que le destino. Es el único que un
hombre puede habitar en esta casa, verdadero monasterio, dónde
solo faltan la toca y el sayal.
Y empujando una puerta que abría en el zaguan, hizo entrar á
Mauricio en una pieza pequeña, pero aseada; cubiertas sus paredes
con papel de ramajes azules en fondo blanco.
Frente á la ventana, que recibía luz de la calle, una puerta
empapelada como las paredes, clavada una percha en lo alto del
marco y oculta bajo una cortina de damasco azul, hacía veces de
ropero, cegando la comunicacion con la vivienda vecina.
Cubría el piso un tapiz de hule; y el mobiliario componíanlo una
cama de nogal con dos colchones, dos almohadas y mosquitero de
gasa blanca; un velador, un lavabo con juego de porcelana, una
cómoda, dos sillas y una mesita central.
—¡Magnífico! Hé aquí cuanto necesito—dijo Mauricio, estrechando
gozoso la mano á madame Bazan.
 XII
Aquel mismo dia mandó allí su modesto equipaje, que la camarera
instaló, arreglando el pequeño cuarto, á pesar de su deficiente
mueblaje, con el realce de un buen gusto enteramente parisiense.
Cuando Mauricio vino aquella noche, á la hora del sueño, quedó
encantado de su nueva morada.
Todo estaba en su lugar: el gas encendido dentro de una bombita de
cristal, sobre la mesa del centro; la bugía en el velador, al lado de la
garrafa de agua y el vaso de cristal de roca; la cama abierta,
mullidos colchones y almohadas; sábanas y cobertores sahumados
con alhucema; en el lavabo preparado el baño.
La puerta-ropero guardaba los vestidos de Mauricio, bajo la cortina
de damasco azul; la cómoda sus corbatas y ropa blanca.
Sentíase allí la mano de la mujer y su benéfica influencia en todo:
hasta en un lindo ramilletito de violetas que desde el fondo del baño
de porcelana, enviaba su perfume al pobre huésped proscrito.
Mauricio, apoyado el codo en la mesa y la frente en la mano, leía, ó
más bien, distraido, divertíase en hojear un libro, señalando con los
dedos, á la ventura y á largas distancias en la página, frases que,
reunidas, formaban absurdos ó sentencias, que lo hacían sonreir ó
meditar.
En una de esas casuales agrupaciones, leyó:
—En toda existencia humana hay un minuto esperado ó fortuito,
solemne ó trivial, que decide del destino entero.
Mauricio sonrió.—¡Perogrulladas!—iba á decir, á tiempo que una
ráfaga de melodía, que parecía venir detrás de la puerta-ropero,
invadió el silencioso cuarto.
De seguro pertenecía á un Steinway, el teclado que una mano ligera,
experta, suavísima, recorrió con un arpegio ténue como el rumor de
la brisa, seguido de las primeras notas del valse de Julieta.
Mauricio, inmóvil, comprimiendo el aliento, escuchaba aquellas notas
que como una misteriosa corriente, llevaban su pensamiento léjos en
el tiempo y en el espacio, allá, á bordo del «Senegal,» al caer el
crepúsculo, en la rada de Pouillac; y en la bahía de Rio Janeiro, en
una noche primaveral.
Pero como si la artista hubiera adivinado su presencia, el piano calló.
—Es una de las enemigas que rechazaron mi admision—pensó
Mauricio.
Aquella noche, fantásticas visiones visitaron su sueño. Ora bajo la
aérea forma de una vírgen, sonreíale el valse de Julieta; ora, en
letras de fuego llameaba la misteriosa leyenda....
Desde entónces, en vano Mauricio aguzaba el oído; el cuarto vecino
permanecía silencioso.
—Quizá para alejarse de mí, su habitante lo habrá abandonado—
pensaba Mauricio, no sin consagrar un tierno recuerdo al encantado
arpegio, y al bello valse de Julieta.
 XIII
Cierto dia, encargado de redactar una memoria en que le era
necesario compulsar leyes y decretos, Mauricio, huyendo de la
cháchara de sus compañeros, resolvió hacer aquel trabajo en su
habitacion.
Encerrado y sin dar al exterior señal de vida, escribía en la holgura
del silencio y la soledad.
A las nueve, probablemente la hora del arreglo, en el órden
establecido en la casa, la puerta del cuarto se abrió de repente; y la
camarera que entraba tarareando una cancion, al encontrarse con
Mauricio, dió un grito y dejó caer escoba y plumero.
—Tranquilícese Vd., amiguita,—díjole éste, en voz baja—soy su
huésped, y, por ahora, en la necesidad de sigilo y asistencia.
—Mande el señor—respondió ella, tambien bajando la voz—soy la
camarera y estoy á sus órdenes.......
¿El señor es de Paris? Habla el francès como en el boulevard.
—No; pero amo á la bella ciudad; y por amor suyo pido á..... ¿El
nombre de Vd., amiguita?
—Renata.
—Pido á Vd. buena Renata, que me deje encerrado; y que de ello
guarde rigoroso secreto. ¿Sabe Vd. que soy un vecino proscrito?
—¡Ah! sí...... ¡Esas señoras! ¿Háse visto un capricho tan tonto?
Aquella noche dábame ganas de entrar en el debate y decirles:
¡Insensatas! ¿qué os proponeis? En los monasterios hay un esposo:
Jesucristo. Pero vosotras, ¿á qué ideal obedeceis?
—Bueno ó malo, déjelas Vd. en él. Y, que pues halla injusticia en su
proceder conmigo, ruego á Vd. piense que mi ideal, á esta hora,
despues de haber trabajado desde las seis, debe ser....... ¿Qué le
parece á Vd. que sea?
—¿Descansar?
—¡Bah! ¡Almorzar, Renata, almorzar!
—¡Ah! es verdad, señor. ¿En qué pensaba yo? Con gran secreto voy
á decirle á madame, que me mandará servir á Vd.
—Deje Vd. tranquila á madame, y avise en el restaurant de enfrente,
donde tomo mis comidas.
—Yo misma iré á buscar el almuerzo del señor y se lo serviré con
tanto más gusto, cuanto que estaría el dia entero oyendo hablar al
señor. Si me parece que estoy en Paris. Aquí unos hablan el francés
como normandos; otros como gascones. Como parisienses muy
pocos; y de esos los más, hablan el francés de las Barrieres. El señor
habla como Mr. Ribeaumont. ¿Conoce el señor á Mr. Ribeaumont?
—Sí: el espiritual colaborador de «Le Courrier de la Plata».
—¡Cómo me gustan los folletines de «Le Courrier de la Plata»! Yo no
sé leer el castellano; pero lo oigo leer á las señoras de la casa, todas
suscritas á los principales diarios. A mí me encantan los libros. Mi
madre era portera en el colegio de señoritas que dirije madame
Arnaud, calle de Valois. Yo les guardaba las novelas que ellas traian
ocultas para leerlas en el jardin. En Paris todos gustamos de leer: los
pobres como los ricos. «Le Petit Journal» es nuestra delicia, y la más
mísera cocinera, ahorra sus cuatro céntimos para comprarlo.
Y en tanto que extendía los cobertores y arreglaba las almohadas, la
charlatana camarera, espetaba á Mauricio aquella palabrería, sin
cuidarse de que éste, ocupado en el trabajo que lo absorbía, no la
escuchaba.
El sonido de un timbre y rumor de voces y de faldas en la habitacion
vecina, interrumpió la cháchara de Renata, que llevó un dedo á sus
lábios, y salió cerrando tras de sí la puerta.
 XIV
—¡Oh! qué pesados son estos vestidos de abrigo—decía cerca de
Mauricio, con acento quejumbroso, una voz dulcísima. Y se oia el
caer de pesadas ropas sobre los muebles.
—¡Por Dios! ¡hay algo tan brutal como imponer al delicado cuerpo de
la mujer este abrumador astrakan y el no menos insoportable
bombasí!
Era necesario, era preciso, como dice Cienfuegos, que esos
confeccionadores de la moda: Wort, Bowctlaw y sus semejantes,
estuvieran locos, ó que se hubieran confabulado contra nosotros.—
Y con un suspiro de alivio:
—¡Ah!—decía—paréceme haber echado de mí dos toneladas.
—Poco te queda que sufrir—contestaba otra voz, tambien dulce y
jóven.
—Ya rie la primavera con su florido aspecto.
—Bendita sea ella; y bendito el verano con sus lijeras gasas y
sencillas galas.
Renata déme Vd. mi baton de cachemira. Gracias... ¡Ah! ¡qué liviano
es esto! y al mismo tiempo qué abrigado.
—¡Y qué lindo!—añado yo.—¿Quién te lo hizo?
—¿Quién ha de ser? Julia Lopez, tu servidora.—
Mauricio sorprendió á su corazon estremeciéndose al escuchar este
nombre.
Y cuando la emocion se lo permitió—¡Qué bien te está!—oyó decir.
—Lo hice por los últimos modelos de «La Estacion»; así, en cuanto
la severidad del luto lo prescribe.
—Feliz tú, que puedes emanciparte de la odiosa tutela de las
modistas.
—He ahí la única ventaja del pobre sobre el rico; servirse á sí
mismo.
—Sin embargo, he aquí, Renata, que está sirviéndote en este
momento.
—Como una amiga, ¿no es verdad, Renata?
—¡Oh! sí, señorita Julia; y con mucho gusto mio. ¡Es Vd. tan buena!
—¡Ja! ¡ja! ¡ja! Quitándome lo malo: ya se vé.......
¡La campana del comedor!
—Es prevencion.
—¡Dios mio! ¿Qué hora es?.... ¡Las diez y media! ¡Cómo pasa el
tiempo! Una clase en el colegio, á dos pasos de aquí; una leccion de
piano; ¡y ya las diez y media!
Alicia, quédate á almorzar con nosotras.
—Imposible: me esperan en casa.
—Que no te apure eso, mi hijita.
Renata haga Vd. el favor de avisar por el teléfono que la señorita
Alicia nos acompaña á almorzar.
—Entónces voy á dejar el abrigo y el sombrero.
—En la alcoba, sobre la cama; porque luego vendrán las muchachas,
que, entre clase y clase, todo lo manipulean.
—¿Y tú no cambias vestido?
—No. Ajusto mi baton con esta cintura de largos lazos; al cuello esta
corbatita abullonada como el extremo de las mangas. Así, ¿vés?
—¡Oh! perfectamente...... ¡con una gracia!.....
—Algo teatral, ¿eh? Sabe que por el régimen interior de ésta casa,
las jóvenes gozamos de una entera libertad en el vestir; y gracias á
la excelente idea de excluir á los hombres de nuestro domicilio,
podemos añadir á las galas del déshabillé, lo picante del capricho.
Así, nada tan pintoresco y gracioso como nuestra toilette en la mesa,
en los paseos al jardin, y en las visitas de vivienda.
Toilette sencilla, pero con el realce de caprichosas fantasias. La
túnica griega, el peplum romano, la castellana escarcela.....
A propósito ¿dónde está la mia?..... ¡Ah! hela aquí. Ayer la llevé en la
comida. Por más señas, á los postres, llenéla de confites..... ¿Vés?
deja que te ponga uno en la boca.
—Esquisito. Simula una almendra y tiene todo su sabor.
—Sí, porque es el jugo de esta, condensado. Producto de la
Confitería del Lampo: esto lo dice todo.
—Cierto. Qué manos mágicas confeccionan cuanto sale de ese
maravilloso emporio de lo rico, suculento y bello.
—Dicen que sus propietarios van á realizar grandes mejoras en ese
establecimiento, ya tan acreditado. Entre ellas, hablan de salones
magníficos, sobre todo el destinado á las señoras, decorado con
esplendor y rigurosamente reservado para ellas.
—Sin duda, los Partiano se han inspirado en el espíritu de esta casa.
—¡Excelente inspiracion! amable galantería que debemos agradecer,
aunque solo fuera porque nos librara á la hora de los helados, del
insoportable olor del tabaco, esa pestilente atmósfera de todos los
sitios frecuentados por los hombres...
La campana del comedor sonó otra vez.
—¿Vamos?
—Vamos.
—Dame el brazo y permíteme ser tu caballero.—
 XV

Cuando el silencio, así en torno suyo como en el vecino cuarto,

despertó á Mauricio de su profunda absorcion, encontróse con la
pluma en la mano, de pié é inclinada la cabeza ante la cortina de
damasco azul... ¡escuchando!
Detrás de él, en una esquina de la mesa, primorosamente servido,
entre un dorado pan y una botella de vino, yacía un apetitoso
almuerzo enteramente frio.
Aquellos exquisitos manjares parecían resentidos: el bife hacía una
mueca, y la tortilla tenía todo el aire de una coqueta ofendida.
Solo las primaverales fresas, agrupadas en su fruterito de porcelana,
sonreían á Mauricio y le decían con su incitante perfume—gústanos.
Nosotras somos buenas y perdonamos tu desvío.
Avergonzado de su indiscrecion, apenas tocó el almuerzo. Tomó un
bocado de pan, dos fresas y un dedo de vino. Y como sintiese los
pasos de Renata, volvió de nuevo á su trabajo, agachado sobre el
papel, para evitar la mirada fisgona de la camarera.
Pero en vano: la parlanchina francesa habíase propuesto tirarle la
lengua, y mientras quitaba el cubierto:
¡Lástima de solomito!—decía;—¡lástima de dorada fritura! Ni con el
lábio las ha tocado.—
¡Nada! Mauricio, pegado á la cuartilla, no se daba por entendido; y
escribía, escribía.
Y la pícara, en su empeño, continuaba:
—Pero si no ha comido ni el peso de un adarme. Un cachito de pan
y medio trago de vino. ¡Jesús! no lo haría peor un cartujo.—
¡Nada! Más pegado todavía á la cuartilla, Mauricio, callando como un
muerto, escribía, escribía.
La astuta camarera, dando otro giro al ataque:
—¡Poder de la curiosidad!—exclamó.—Dos jóvenes charlan en la
vecindad. ¿Qué dicen? Fruslerías, fruslerías, que, sin embargo, el
señor, de pié, quietecito y el oído en acecho, escucha, al parecer, tan
absorto, que no me siente llegar, ni el ruido que hago al servirlo.—
Con gran contento de la pillastrona, aquella bomba produjo el efecto
deseado.
Mauricio se enderezó; y volviéndose vivamente hácia ella:
—Mi buena Renata—díjole estrechando sus manos—espero que esas
señoras no quieran hacerme un calvario por el inocente placer de
haber escuchado, no sus palabras, sino el éco dulcísimo de su voz.
—¡Vaya! no le harían á Vd. un calvario y sí hasta dos, si lo supieran.
Pero, ¿quién ha de decírselo? No seré yo, por cierto; yo, que cuando
estaba allí con ellas, ya imaginaba que usted estaba ocupado en
escucharlas. Porque, señor, para juzgar de los otros con acierto, no
hay como poner la mano sobre el propio corazon.
Así, cuando encontré á Vd. extático, no lo tomé á novedad.
—¿Entónces, Vd. me absuelve y no cree que he procedido mal?
—No, por cierto. ¿Qué daño hácia Vd. á esas señoritas en
escucharlas?
—Es Vd. una excelente jóven; una verdadera francesa por su
bondad y honrada indulgencia.
—El señor me favorece. Pero en verdad, nada tan natural. Un jóven
se encuentra solo, encerrado como en una prision; oye de repente,
cerca de sí, voces frescas que ríen y hablan; y aunque digan
nimiedades que él no entiende, interésanle esos misterios femeninos
y escucha. A fé mia, yo hubiera hecho otro tanto.
—Querida amiga, me alivia Vd. de una penosa preocupacion. Yo
estaba confuso, avergonzado.
—¡Oh! ¡bah! pues yo pienso hacer más: quiero presentar á Vd. las
señoras de esta casa; quiero que vengan á que Vd. haga con ellas
íntimo conocimiento.
—¡Qué dice Vd. presentarme á ellas!
—Usted á ellas, no; ellas á Vd.
—¿Cómo puede ser eso? Vd. se burla.
—Ya verá Vd.—dijo ella con misteriosa sonrisa.
Y salió, cerrando tras sí la puerta.
Mauricio se quedó dando vueltas en torno al enigma que había
dejado ante él la traviesa sirvienta; en la mente, la imágen ideal de
Julia Lopez; en el corazon, el éco dulcísimo de su voz.
 XVI

Una ruidosa invasion en la vivienda inmediata interrumpió aquellas

cavilaciones.
Risas, remocion de muebles, apertura del piano.
Una mano inteligente, pero ¡ay! no la mano de aquella noche,
recorrió el teclado con una avalancha de melodías.
—Por Dios, Rosita, acaricia ese obsequio de la señora D..., no lo
aporrées—decía la voz que Mauricio sentía vibrar en su alma.
—¡Ah!—replicaba otra—esa intemperancia de manoteos es lo único
que me desagrada en la escuela francesa.
—Y lo que yo nunca pude sufrir en Gottschallk—añadió la voz
temblona de una vieja;—cerraba los ojos para no verlo en el piano;
porque me parecía un caballo picado de tábanos. (Perdóneme el arte
esta blasfemia).
Rosita, moderando su ruidosa manera, ejecutó una preciosa
composicion.
—¿Qué es eso?
—«La Emancipacion de la Mujer».
—¿Quién es su autor?
—Ortíz Zeballos, un artista limeño.
—¡Un hombre, partidario de esa causa!
—¡Un fénix!
—¡En verdad! ¡con qué ardor atacan los hombres esa idea!
—¡Y con qué argumentos! El otro dia lei en un artículo firmado por
una notabilidad literaria:
—.... El mismo Cristo, en las bodas de Caná, estableció su
dependencia del hombre.—Mujer, dijo á su madre, que le pedía un
milagro, ¿qué hay de comun entre tú y yo?
Alicia, ruégote que tomes de sobre aquella mesa los Santos
Evangelios y leas en San Juan las palabras de Jesús á su Madre, en
aquella ocasion.
Oyóse hojear el libro y la voz de Alicia leyó:
—..... Y como faltara el vino, dijo á Jesús su Madre:—«No tienen
vino»—y Jesús respondió—«Mujer, ¿qué tenemos que hacer en esto,
tú y yo? Mi hora aún no ha llegado».
—Jesús se refería á la edad en que un profeta debía comenzar su
obra: los treinta años, que él no había alcanzado todavía.
Pero la madre que tenía la seguridad de ser obedecida, dijo á los
criados:—«Haced lo que él os dijere.»
Y Jesús obedeció: y por obedecerla hizo su primer milagro: convirtió
el agua en vino esquisito que hizo exclamar á los convidados:—«¿Por
qué nos dan ahora este vino que debimos gustar al principio?»
—Pues que de citas equivocadas se habla, ninguna como la de aquel
señor diputado que en plena Cámara llamó precepto evangélico al
—«Creced y multiplicaos»—del Génesis.
—Y diputado por Córdoba: la ciudad teóloga por excelencia.
—¡Ah! ¡y que con todas estas deficiencias se atrevan los hombres á
disputarle á la mujer su emancipacion!
—Emancipada ó no, la mujer será siempre reina del mundo. Nada en
él se hace sin su influencia: todo por obedecerla, para agradarla, por
merecerla.
Recorramos la Historia, desde los remotos dias de la creacion, hasta
la hora presente.
¿Qué encontramos?
Siempre y en todas partes el culto de la mujer.
A ella, por ella, para ella. He ahí el móvil humano en toda la
extension del planeta, como diría Emilio Castelar.
—Puedo afirmarlo yo—intervino la voz de la anciana—yo, que he
vivido y visto mucho; yo, que, durante los últimos catorce años, he
tenido ante mí, el espectáculo repugnante del despotismo de una
esposa y la sumision de un marido.
Era aquello tan odioso, que más de una vez me sorprendí anhelando
para ella la esclavitud; y en él, con un garrote en la mano, una hora
de tiranía.—
Risas.
—¿Quiénes son ellos?
—Por Dios, misia Laurencia, delátelos V.
—¡Ah! demasiado alto ha delatado una doble catástrofe, esa
culpable inversion de la debilidad y la fuerza.—
Siguió un largo silencio.
Luego, aquí y allí—Ya sé—Ya sé—dijeron varias voces.
—¡Ay!—Ya sé—podía decir tambien, aquel que detrás de la puerta
escuchaba.
Y en el corro femenil:
Usted habitaba en su vecindad, ¿no es cierto?—dijeron.
—En frente mismo de su casa, con nuestros balcones, por decirlo
así, cara á cara, mediando solo, entre unos y otros, la angosta calle
de Esmeralda: en la mayor proximidad. Sin embargo, y por esto
mismo, nunca nos tratamos. Yo no podía sufrir, ni de vista, á aquella
mujer autoritaria, que hacía de su marido un esclavo y lo ponía en
ridículo con las extravagancias de su capricho. Hace daño el
espectáculo de tales desequilibrios en un hogar.
Así, cuando dejé aquella casa al propietario que quería habitarla,
aunque hacía años que moraba en ella, me plació alejarme de la
proximidad de aquel infierno.....
¿Sonrien Vds.? ¡Ah! otra cosa era oirlo. Aquel eterno contrariar
cuanto pensaba ó deseaba el esposo.
¡Y este!... El desventurado, por más que ante ella sonreia siempre, á
vueltas de esa sonrisa su semblante estaba triste.
Una vez sola, vilo con aire gozoso. Fué pocos dias antes de su
muerte.
Salía yo de aquí, á tiempo que él pasaba en compañía de un amigo,
á quien decía alegre frotándose las manos:
—Dice V., que tiene curiosidad de saber ¿por qué estoy tan
contento?
—De seguro, un buen negocio—replicaba el otro.
—Sí; pues anda V. léjos—breve: es un obsequio que he hecho á mi
mujer en el porvenir; y lo mejor aún, sin que ella lo sospeche,
siquiera; y todavía, contra la poderosa voluntad de aquella querida
criatura.
El desgraciado hablaba así, de aquella que lo arrastró á la ruina y á
la muerte.
—¡Pobre mujer! demasiado cruelmente ha expiado sus faltas. ¡Paz á
su memoria!—oyóse decir á Julia Lopez, con piadoso acento.
—Yo he hablado así, hija, y hecho esas referencias, para impugnar,
ya sea explícita, ya implícita, la emancipacion de la mujer.
¿Qué piensa Vd. de ello, Julia?
—Yo pienso que la mujer es la mitad del hombre; que ambos son las
dos partes integrantes de un ser; y que, por tanto, están destinados
á juntarse y unirse eternamente por el amor, para formar el Todo
humano: la idea del Creador...—
Mauricio sintió una ola de deliciosa embriaguez inundar su alma.
El, tambien, creyó que le faltaba la mitad de sí mismo, parecíale que
venía á él, que se acercaba; que la voz que hablaba era la suya y lo
llamaba.
Cuando el nimbo radioso que lo envolvía se hubo disipado, y
Mauricio pudo darse cuenta de lo que en él pasaba, encontróse
profundamente apasionado.
Otro habría reido del idealismo de ese amor, encarnado en el sonido
de una voz, en la sombra de un velo.
Mauricio le abrió el corazon y se entregó á su misterioso encanto.
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