Rydberg Atoms in Strong Static Fields

Abstract

Semiclassical approximations provide a connection between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics. That relationship is problematic when classical orbits are chaotic. Highly excited states of atoms have provided a laboratory for the study of this relationship. When classical trajectories are orderly, corresponding quantum spectra and wave-functions display the same type of order. When they are chaotic, the quantum spectrum is very complex, but short closed classical orbits are connected to the large-scale structure of the density of states and the absorption spectrum. This chapter is restricted to a discussion of Rydberg atoms in strong static fields. Related information on atoms in strong fields, on Rydberg atoms, and on the interaction of atoms with strong laser fields can be found elsewhere in the book.