Nonadiabatic decay of Rydberg-atom-ion molecules

The decay of Rydberg-atom-ion molecules (RAIMs) due to nonadiabatic couplings between electronic potential-energy surfaces is investigated. We employ the Born-Huang representation and perform numerical simulations using a Crank-Nicolson algorithm. The nonadiabatic lifetimes of rubidium RAIMs for the lowest ten vibrational states, v, are computed for selected Rydberg principal quantum numbers, n. The nonadiabatic lifetimes are found to generally exceed the radiative Rydberg-atom lifetimes. We observe and explain a trend of the lifetimes as a function of v and n, and attribute irregularities to quantum interference arising from a shallow potential well in an inner potential surface. Our results will be useful for future spectroscopic studies of RAIMs.

Automated summary

This study investigates the decay of Rydberg-atom-ion molecules (RAIMs) caused by nonadiabatic couplings between electronic potential-energy surfaces. Using the Born-Huang representation and numerical simulations, the nonadiabatic lifetimes of rubidium RAIMs for different vibrational states and principal quantum numbers are calculated. The results show that the nonadiabatic lifetimes generally exceed the radiative lifetimes of Rydberg atoms, and this trend is explained by quantum interference from a shallow potential well in an inner potential surface.