Atomic Physics

In General > s.a. {#democritus}; condensed-matter physics; elements; history of physics [including the Bohr model].
* Evidence: Analysis of chemical reactions; Brownian motion (A Einstein, typical size 10⁻¹⁰ m).
@ Texts: Cagnac & Pebay-Peyroula 75 [IIb]; Lim 00 [problems, and nuclear]; Dahl 01 [III]; Budker et al 04 [problems, r PT(05)mar]; Yang & Hamilton 10 + problems 10; Inguscio & Fallani 13 [and ultracold matter]; Fox 18 [II].
@ Manipulation of atoms: Eigler & Schweizer Nat(90)apr; Folman et al PRL(00)qp/99; news Phy(19)may; Lam et al PRX(21) & focus [moving an atom as quickly as possible preserving its state]; > s.a. electronic technology [atomtronics].
@ Imaging: Tsong PT(06)mar [history]; Zewail et al PNAS(06) + pw(06)dec [electron microscope movies]; news R&D(12)jul [shadow of a single atom]; > s.a. microscopes.
@ Exotic atoms: news pw(04)oct [pionium]; DEAR Collaboration PRL(05) + pw(05)jun [kaonic H]; DIRAC Collaboration PRL(16) [mesonic aroms, \(\pi^\pm K^\mp\)]; > s.a. elements [positronium].
@ Interactions: Fermi (23)ht/02 [with charged particles]; Cohen-Tannoudji 04 [with electromagnetic fields]; > s.a. below [with light].
@ Related topics: Dirac IJTP(84) [future]; Alba et al CJP(10)-a0806 [relativistic]; Cohen-Tannoudji & Guéry-Odelin 11 [advances, r PT(11)mar]; Amusia et al 12 [data handbook]; Grujić & Simonović PT(12)may, Rashkovskiy IJP(17)-a1602 [classical atomic models]; > s.a. structure of matter [including plasma].
> Online resources: Internet Encyclopedia of Science pages.

Quantum Theory and Phenomenology > s.a. interactions; gas; QED phenomenology.
* Prout's law: Atomic weights are integer multiples of that of H (not really true).
* Highest-Z atoms: 1999, Element 116 (and 118, later retracted) seen at LBL; 2006, Discovery of 118 announced again by JINR-Livermore Lab collaboration; 2010, Element 117 seen by a collaboration of Russian and US physicists; > s.a. elements.
* Quantum degenerate states: For bosonic atoms, in Bose-Einstein condensation; For fermionic atoms, a quantum degenerate gas (like in neutron stars, white dwarves, superfluidity, superconductivity) was obtained in 1999 with ⁴⁰K atoms [@ news pn(99)sep].
* Atomic electric dipole moments: The strongest limits are 2001 University of Washington measurements with Hg atoms; Equivalent charges would be at most 2 × 10⁻³⁰ m apart [@ Romalis et al PRL(01)].
* Highly excited (Rydberg) atoms: The size of these atoms scales quadratically with the principal quantum number n, while the electron motion slows down by the same fraction, drastically increasing the time it takes for the atom to radiatively decay; As a result, Rydberg atoms feel a strong van der Waals interaction that scales as n¹¹!
@ General references: Adams CP(94) [atom optics]; Aharonov et al qp/01-wd [coherent decays]; Wang et al Sci(13)mar + news sd(13)mar [atomic collapse]; Fernández a1904 [wave function permutation symmetry].
@ Bound states: Lindgren et al PRP(04) [QED methods]; > s.a. Bethe-Salpeter Equation.
@ Ionization: Ovchinnikov et al PRP(04) [collisions]; Fröhlich & Merkli MPAG(04)mp, et al JSP(04)mp [thermal]; Nam a1209-proc [results on the ionization conjecture]; news sn(14)nov [9-fold ionized iridium atoms]; Forbes a1412 [Landau-Lifshitz formula for the electrostatic field ionization rate]; Pisanty & Ivanov PRA(16)-a1507 [trajectories in complex time].
@ Ultracold atomic gas: He et al FrontP(12)-a1112; Shapiro JPA(12) [in the presence of disorder]; news pw(14)apr [analogy with wireless network]; Fallani & Kastberg EPL(15)-a1506 [status]; Pinto Barros et al in(20)-a1911 [and quantum simulation of gauge theories]; Zhai 21; > s.a. microscopes.
@ Semiclassical atoms: Guerra & Robotti phy/05 [Majorana and the Thomas-Fermi statistical model]; Englert a1907-proc [Julian Schwinger's work].
@ Other theory topics: Lush a0709 [spin-orbit interaction, Thomas precession, and the Bohr radius]; Pohl Phy(12) [radiation from Rydberg atoms]; Jin et al PRA(14)-a1406 [circularly accelerated two-level atom]; Boyer EJP-a2103 [H atom in classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation, radiation balance]; > s.a. Dicke Model; diffraction [Kapitza-Dirac effect]; Efimov Effect; Helium [fine structure]; parity; Saha Equation.
@ Experimental topics: Kragh SHPMP(12)-a1112 [the isotope effect in atomic spectroscopy]; news sci(16)apr [gamers help find trategies for moving atoms with a beam of light]; news cosmos(19)jun [imaging atom-to-atom contact]; > s.a. Lasers [atom lasers]; X-Rays.

Stark Effect
* Consequences: It makes bound states acquire a finite lifetime.
@ References: Land & Howitz FP(01)qp [covariant form]; Bini et al PRD(04)gq [gravitational, c-metric]; Duncan & Janssen a1404, a1404-proc [history, in the old and the new quantum theory].

Zeeman Effect
* Idea: The splitting of atomic spectral lines by an external magnetic field B, due to the interaction of B with the atomic magnetic moment; If B = B k, then U = −μ · B = g m_J (e\(\hbar\)B/2m_e).
* Applications: Since it depends on the quantum number m_J of the energy levels, it removes a degeneracy and is useful for the identification of quantum numbers; Also used in astronomy to detect magnetic fields in stars.
* Consequences: It makes bound states acquire a finite lifetime.
* Normal vs anomalous: The "normal" one is a simpler line splitting at high magnetic fields; The transition to the more complicated, "anomalous" pattern (Paschen-Back effect) occurs at fields below 10 T or so.
@ References: Zeeman Nat(1897); Mukhopadhyay & Ganguly a1802 [gravitational Zeeman effect].

And Fundamental Physics > s.a. atom interferometry; equivalence principle; lorentz-group phenomenology.
* Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model: A model describing a two-level atom interacting with a single mode of an electromagnetic cavity reservoir.
* Other effects: Atomic systems have shown large parity violation effects (> see parity) and encourage tabletop searches for new physics.
@ Atoms and light: Pike & Sarkar 96; Loudon 00; Clark & Parkins JOB(03)qp/02 [2-level atoms + squeezed light]; Griesemer mp/04-proc, Amour et al mp/05 [non-relativistic matter + QED]; Guo et al PRA(06)qp/05 [and Freeman resonances]; Hinds & Barnett PRL(09) [momentum exchange]; Göklü & Lämmerzahl GRG(11)-a0908-conf [spacetime fluctuations and noise]; can der Straten & Metcalf 16 [text]; Garziano et al PRL(16) [two atoms excited by a single photon]; > s.a. light [scattering]; types of quantum field theories.
@ Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model: Shore & Knight JMO(93); Ahmadi et al SIr(11)-a1008 [strong-coupling regime]; Bina EPJST(12)-a1111 [tutorial]; Muradyan & Muradyan a1905 [ambiguity in electromagnetic field quantization].
@ Electroweak theory: Bennett & Wieman PRL(99) + pn(99)mar [Z-mediated, P-violating transitions].
@ Standard model: Ginges & Flambaum PRP(04) [and beyond].
@ Hadronic atoms: Gotta IJMPA(05) [pionic H]; Schweizer IJMPA(05) [spectrum, decays].
> Related topics: see Simulations [cold atoms and quantum field theory effects]; Unparticles [effect on ground-state energy]; > s.a. vacuum.

"If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed,
and only one sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures,
what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words?
I believe it is the atomic hypothesis … that all things are made of atoms —
little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other
when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed
into one another." R. Feynman.

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