Abstract

Because of their unusual properties, Rydberg atoms, i.e., atoms with one electron occupying a highly excited orbit, have attracted the interest of many physicists. For example, due to their large size, such atoms are particularly sensitive to external fields. Fifty years ago, Segrè and co-workers¹ investigated the Stark effect and atomic diamagnetism of Rydberg states of alkalis with principal quantum numbers up to n = 30. During the last decade, Rydberg states have been studied extensively² due to the availability of tunable laser radiation.

© 1986 Optical Society of America