Rydberg-atom acceleration by tightly focused intense laser pulses

Abstract

Recent experiments and simulations have shown that pulsed lasers can be used to push neutral Rydberg atoms forward or pull them back toward a light source. Referring to an earlier experiment [U. Eichmann et al., Nature 461, 1261 (2009)], we simulate both pushing and pulling effects on $^{1}\mathrm{H}$ and $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ in tightly focused laser fields with a high-order corrected optical description. Scaling laws of excited $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ acceleration by laser pulses are investigated via numerical simulations, which show that Rydberg atoms can be pushed or pulled to high speeds even up to hundreds of kilometers per second by tightly focused laser pulses. Moreover, we use the ponderomotive model and computer simulation to further analyze the validity of two formulas of the maximum radial and longitudinal velocity of outgoing accelerated Rydberg atoms. These studies have practical guiding significance to laser-based acceleration of neutral particle experiments in laboratories.