Doppler-detuned CW excitation of then = 4 Stark manifold of atomic hydrogen

Abstract

The excitation of metastable hydrogen towards then = 4 Stark manifold is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The Stark Hamiltonian isdiagonalized to obtain the energy levels, oscillator strengths and relaxation rates of then = 2 and n = 4 Stark states. In a fast beam experiment, the transitions are excited by the blue line of aCW argon ion laser with appropriate Doppler detuning, and the measured transitionfrequencies agree well with the calculated values. The population of the 4s state, asmeasured by its fluorescence, is maximum for an electric field strength between 50 and100 V cm−1, and a laser polarization perpendicular to the static field.