Electron-Rydberg Collisions at eV and Sub-eV Energies

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

This combined experimental and theoretical project focuses on the study of collisions of electrons with excited Rydberg atoms in the energy range around one electron volt. This work marks a redirection of earlier NSF-supported efforts in this area toward the goal of addressing a significant gap in the knowledge of cool plasmas in the interstellar medium. The investigations will focus on near-elastic state-changing collisions and electron impact ionization of selected Rydberg states n=20 to 40. Experimentally, a new trochoidal electron monochromator will be used to access the energy range desired. Theoretically, newly developed techniques, including hidden crossing and Sturmian methods to study Coulomb breakup close to threshold, will be applied to the electron-Rydberg system. In addition to the in-house faculty and students, faculty co-investigators and students from two neighboring undergraduate institutions are involved as participants in the research.