Laser Excitation of Positronium in the Paschen-Back Regime

D. B. Cassidy, T. H. Hisakado, H. W. K. Tom, and A. P. Mills, Jr.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 173401 – Published 28 April 2011

Abstract

Zeeman mixing of singlet and triplet 2P states of positronium (Ps) atoms, followed by decay back to the ground state, can effectively turn a long-lived triplet atom into a short-lived singlet state, which would seem to preclude laser cooling of Ps in a magnetic field. Here we report experiments which show that, in fact, because of the large splitting of the n=2 states in a high magnetic field (the Paschen-Back regime), the amount of such mixing diminishes approximately exponentially with an increasing magnetic field >0.01T and is essentially eliminated above 2T. Thus, laser cooling of Ps should be feasible at high fields, which will facilitate the production of a Ps Bose-Einstein condensate.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 2 February 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.173401

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

D. B. Cassidy, T. H. Hisakado, H. W. K. Tom, and A. P. Mills, Jr.

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, California 92521-0413, USA

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 106, Iss. 17 — 29 April 2011

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×