Collapse of Xe polarized atomic states in magnetic fields

Abstract

Ionization of two-photon excited states $$5p^{\mathrm {5}}(^{\mathrm {2}}P_{\mathrm {3/2}})6\hbox {p}[^{\mathrm {3}}/_{\mathrm {2}}$$ , $$^{\mathrm {5}}/_{\mathrm {2}}]_{\mathrm {2}}$$ , $$\hbox {M}=2$$ (jl-coupling) of xenon atoms by circularly polarized probe light was studied experimentally in a supersonic beam. The observed photoionization signals revealed oscillation structure due to the Larmor precession of atomic states in an external magnetic field. We derived analytical formulas for the photoelectron current and explained the diversity in the structure of the detected oscillations in terms of the principal lines among multiplet components of optical transitions. The obtained numerical data demonstrate collapse and revival (beating) behavior of the photocurrent due to nonlinearity of Zeeman shifts in the presence of the Paschen–Back effect. Our results indicate the possibility of implementing Doppler-free spectroscopy involving bound-free transitions.