Rydberg Atoms in Magnetic Fields — The Landau Limit of the Spectrum

Abstract

The understanding of the physics of atoms —especially Rydberg atoms —in magnetic fields is far from being complete. Experiments and numerical simulations [1–3] have recently shown that several series of lines, presumably weakly interacting —one of them having dominant character in optical absorption —are participating in the building up of the atomic quasi-Landau spectrum. Such series are also existing above threshold where they are associated with resonances embedded in the continua. Although the basic features of the quasi-Landau phenomena (the 3/2ħω_c spacing and the n ³_r .B = Cste quantization law at threshold) are well understood from WKB theories, there is not yet any quantum approach at the spectrum making clear the connections between the Rydberg and Landau limiting cases.