Dipole–Dipole Broadening in the Selective Reflection of an Intense Laser Beam from the Interface between a Transparent Dielectric and a Dense Resonance Gas

The dipole–dipole broadening of the spectrum of the selective reflection of intense resonance light from the interface between a transparent dielectric and a gas of the natural mixture of Rb isotopes has been studied experimentally. The case of a high gas density where the Doppler broadening can be neglected has been investigated. It has been shown that dipole–dipole broadening is reduced with increasing the number density of excited atoms. When the laser beam intensity is much higher than the saturation intensity of a resonance transition, a significant broadening due to the very high laser beam intensity has not been observed in the reflection spectrum from the transparent dielectric/gas interface. The observed intensity dependence of the spectral width has been explained by the quenching collisions of the excited atoms with the interface.

Epidemic growth and Griffiths effects on an emergent network of excited atoms

Whether it be physical, biological or social processes, complex systems exhibit dynamics that are exceedingly difficult to understand or predict from underlying principles. Here we report a striking correspondence between the excitation dynamics of a laser driven gas of Rydberg atoms and the spreading of diseases, which in turn opens up a controllable platform for studying non-equilibrium dynamics on complex networks. The competition between facilitated excitation and spontaneous decay results in sub-exponential growth of the excitation number, which is empirically observed in real epidemics. Based on this we develop a quantitative microscopic susceptible-infected-susceptible model which links the growth and final excitation density to the dynamics of an emergent heterogeneous network and rare active region effects associated to an extended Griffiths phase. This provides physical insights into the nature of non-equilibrium criticality in driven many-body systems and the mechanisms leading to non-universal power-laws in the dynamics of complex systems.

Спектроскопия барьерного разряда низкого давления. Послесвечение с ионами Ne-=SUP=-2+-=/SUP=-, Ne-=SUP=-+-=/SUP=- и Ne-=SUP=-2+-=/SUP=-

We present the results of modeling the radiation of a decaying plasma, formed by the processes of electron-ion recombination with the participation of three neon ions: the molecular ion Ne2+ and atomic ions Ne+ and Ne2+. Such a combination of ions, simultaneously participating in the formation of the plasma spectrum, was first discovered in the afterglow of a pulsed barrier discharge of a cylindrical geometry at neon pressures less than 1 Torr and an electron density[e] ≤ 4 × 1010 cm-3. The main attention is paid to the comparative analysis of the mechanisms of impact-radiation recombination of Ne+ and Ne2+ ions based on the numerical solution of the system of differential equations for the densities of ions and long-lived excited atoms in the afterglow, taking into account the main elementary processes in decaying plasma with pulsed "heating" of electrons. The regularities of electron temperature relaxation from discharge values of several electron volts to 300 K in the late afterglow are considered in particular details. Comparison of the model solutions with the spectral intensities measured by the multichannel photon counting method shows that, given their good agreement in the case of singly charged ions, an adequate description of the evolution of ionic lines requires expanding the available information on the recombination of Ne2+ ions.

Диссоциативная рекомбинация в послесвечении барьерного разряда в неоне низкого давления. Заселение атомов конфигурации 2p-=SUP=-5-=/SUP=-3d

The decaying neon plasma produced by the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a cylindrical tube at a pressure of 0.1–40 Torr has been spectroscopically investigated to analyze the dissociative recombination (DR) of molecular ions with electrons as a mechanism for the formation of excited atoms. It is shown that, at the electron density in the afterglow less than 5•1010 cm-3 the DR is the dominant source of population of 3d levels at pressures PNe ≥ 0.6 Torr. At lower pressures, the optical properties of the decaying plasma are formed to a greater extent by the collisional-radiative recombination of Ne+ ions. A significant variation of the relative intensities of the 3d -> 3p transition lines in the afterglow with a change in gas pressure was found, reflecting the effect of inelastic collisions on the formation of the spectrum of decaying plasma in the near infrared region. From measurements carried out at a pressure of 0.6 Torr, the relative values of the partial DR coefficients for the 3dj levels of the neon atom were found. Comparison of these data with measurements in the near ultraviolet region, containing the lines of 4p -> 3s transitions, indicates the need to take into account the cascade 4p -> 3d transitions to correctly solve the problem of the final products of dissociative recombination.

Relaxation of bosons in one dimension and the onset of dimensional crossover

We study ultra-cold bosons out of equilibrium in a one-dimensional (1D) setting and probe the breaking of integrability and the resulting relaxation at the onset of the crossover from one to three dimensions. In a quantum Newton's cradle type experiment, we excite the atoms to oscillate and collide in an array of 1D tubes and observe the evolution for up to 4.8 seconds (400 oscillations) with minimal heating and loss. By investigating the dynamics of the longitudinal momentum distribution function and the transverse excitation, we observe and quantify a two-stage relaxation process. In the initial stage single-body dephasing reduces the 1D densities, thus rapidly drives the 1D gas out of the quantum degenerate regime. The momentum distribution function asymptotically approaches the distribution of quasimomenta (rapidities), which are conserved in an integrable system. In the subsequent long time evolution, the 1D gas slowly relaxes towards thermal equilibrium through the collisions with transversely excited atoms. Moreover, we tune the dynamics in the dimensional crossover by initializing the evolution with different imprinted longitudinal momenta (energies). The dynamical evolution towards the relaxed state is quantitatively described by a semiclassical molecular dynamics simulation.