Non-linear spectral splitting of Rydberg sodium in external fields**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB922003) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11174329 and 91121005).

Abstract

We have studied highly excited sodium in various electric fields, parallel electric and magnetic fields, with one σ and π photon irradiation, and even in a magnetic field with a complex laser polarization configuration. The σ spectra shows a simple linear Stark effect with the applied electric field, while the π spectra exhibits a strong non-linear dependence on the electric field. The π transitions in parallel fields show a similar behavior to that in a pure electric field but the spectra get more smooth due to the magnetic field. The diamagnetic spectrum with laser polarization angles between 0 and π/2 proves that it can be reproduced by simple linear combination of π and σ components, indicating there is no interference between the π and σ channels. A full quantum calculation considering the quantum defects accounts for all the observations. The quantum defects, especially for the channel np, play an important role in the spectral profile.