https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2016-70036-6
Regular Article
Geometric phases causing lifetime modifications of metastable states of hydrogen
1 Centre for Quantum Technologies,
National University of Singapore, 3
Science Drive 2, 117543
Singapore,
Singapore
2 Institut für Theoretische Physik,
Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120
Heidelberg,
Germany
3 Physikalisches Institut, Universität
Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld
226, 69120
Heidelberg,
Germany
4 Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik,
Universität Heidelberg, Im
Neuenheimer Feld 227, 69120
Heidelberg,
Germany
5 ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI, GSI
Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291
Darmstadt,
Germany
a e-mail: martin.trappe@quantumlah.org
Received:
19
January
2016
Received in final form:
15
February
2016
Published online:
7
April
2016
Externally applied electromagnetic fields in general have an influence on the width of atomic spectral lines. The decay rates of atomic states can also be affected by the geometry of an applied field configuration giving rise to an imaginary geometric phase. A specific chiral electromagnetic field configuration is presented which geometrically modifies the lifetimes of metastable states of hydrogen. We propose to extract the relevant observables in a realistic longitudinal atomic beam spin-echo apparatus which allows the initial and final fluxes of the metastable atoms to be compared with each other interferometrically. A geometry-induced change in lifetimes at the 5%-level is found, an effect large enough to be observed in an available experiment.
Key words: Atomic Physics
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2016