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Abstract We present calculations of the photoionization (PI) cross sections of rubidium and cesium Rydberg atoms for light with wavelengths ranging from the infrared to the ultraviolet, using model potentials from Marinescu et al (1994 Phys. Rev. A 49 982). The origins of pronounced PI minima are identified by investigating the free-electron wavefunctions. These include broad PI minima in the nS to ϵP PI channels of both Rb and Cs, with free-electron energy ϵ , which are identified as Cooper minima. Much narrower PI minima in the nD to ϵF channels are due to shape resonances of the free-electron states. We describe possible experimental procedures for measuring the PI minima, and we discuss their implications in fundamental atomic physics as well as in practical applications. Measurements of PI cross sections of Rydberg atoms may serve as a sensitive probe for many-electron interactions of the Rydberg electron in the atomic core region. 

Abstract We study Λ-type Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) on the Rb D2 transition in a buffer-gas-free thermal vapor cell without anti-relaxation coating. Experimental data show well-resolved features due to velocity-selective optical pumping and one EIT resonance. The Zeeman splitting of the EIT line in magnetic fields up to 12 Gauss is investigated. One Zeeman component is free of the first-order shift and its second-order shift agrees well with theory. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of this magnetic-field-insensitive EIT resonance is reduced due to Doppler narrowing, scales linearly in Rabi frequency over the range studied, and reaches about 100 kHz at the lowest powers. These observations agree with an analytic model for a Doppler-broadened medium developed in (Javan et al 2002 Phys. Rev. A 66 013805; Lee et al 2003 Appl. Phys. B, Lasers Opt. (Germany) B 76 , 33–9; Taichenachev et al 2000 JETP Lett. 72 , 119). Numerical simulation using the Lindblad equation reveals that the transverse laser intensity distribution and two Λ-EIT systems must be included to fully account for the measured line width and line shape of the signals. Ground-state decoherence, caused by effects that include residual optical frequency fluctuations, atom-wall and trace-gas collisions, is discussed. 

We demonstrate laser induced DC electric fields in an all-glass vapor cell without bulk or thin film electrodes. The spatial field distribution is mapped by Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectroscopy. The fields are generated by a photoelectric effect and allow DC electric field tuning of up to 0.8 V/cm within the Rydberg EIT probe region. We explain the measured with a boundary-value electrostatic model. This work may inspire new approaches for DC electric field control in designing miniaturized atomic vapor cell devices. Limitations and other charge effects are also discussed.