National Academies Press: OpenBook

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (1986)

Chapter: Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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Suggested Citation:"Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics." National Research Council. 1986. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/627.
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PHYSICS THROUGH THE 1990s Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Pane! on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Physics Survey Committee Board on Physics and Astronomy Commission on Physical Sciences Mathematics, and Resources National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1986

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. The Board on Physics and Astronomy is pleased to acknowledge generous support for the Physics Survey from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, the American Physical Society, Coherent (Laser Products Division), General Electric Company, General Motors Foundation, and International Business Machines Corporation. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Atomic, molecular, and optical physics. (Physics through the 1990s) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Physics Research United States. 2. Atoms- Research United States. 3. Molecules Research- United States. 4. Optics Research United States. 5. National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. II. Series. QC44.A86 1985 530'.072073 85-11524 ISBN 0-309-03575-9 Printed in the United States of America

PANEL ON ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS DANIEL KLEPPNER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chairman C. Lewis COCKE, JR., Kansas State University ALEXANDER DALGARNO, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ROBERT W. FIELD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology THEODOR W. HANSCH, Stanford University NEAL F. LANE, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs JOSEPH MACEK, University of Nebraska FRANCIS M. PIPKIN, Harvard University IVAN A. SELLIN, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

PHYSICS SURVEY COMMITTEE WILLIAM F. BRINKMAN, Sandia National Laboratories, Chairman JOSEPH CERNY, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory RONALD c. DAVIDSON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology JOHN M. DAWSON, University of California, Los Angeles MILDRED s. DRESSEEHAUS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology VAL L. FITCH, Princeton University PAUL A. FLEURY, AT&T Bell Laboratories WILLIAM A. FOWLER, w. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory THEODOR w. HANSCH, Stanford University VINCENT JACCARINO' University of California, Santa Barbara DANIEL KEEPPNER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology AEEXE! A. MARADUDIN, University of California, Irvine PETER D. MACD. PARKER, Yale University MARTIN L. PERK, Stanford University WATT w. WEBB, Cornell University DAVID T. WILKINSON, Princeton University DONALD c. SHAPERO, Staf7Director ROBERT L. RIEMER, Staff Officer CHARLES K. REED, Consultant 1V

BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY HANS FRAUENFEEDER, University of Illinois, Chairman FELIX H. BOEHM, California Institute of Technology RICHARD G. BREWER, IBM San Jose Research Laboratory DEAN E. EASTMAN, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center JAMES E. GUNN, Princeton University LEO p. KADANOFF, The University of Chicago w. CARE LINEBERGER, University of Colorado NORMAN F. RAMSEY, Harvard University MORTON s. ROBERTS, National Radio Astronomy Observatory MARSHALL N. ROSENBEUTH, University of Texas at Austin WILLIAM p. SEICHTER, AT&T Bell Laboratories SAM B. TREIMAN, Princeton University DONALD c. SHAPERO, Staf7Director ROBERT L. RIEMER, Staff Officer HELENE PATTERSON, Stay Assistant SUSAN WYATT, Stay Assistant v

COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND RESOURCES HERBERT FRIEDMAN, National Research Council, Chairman THOMAS D. BARROW, Standard Oil Company (Retired) ELKAN R. BLOUT, Harvard Medical School WILLIAM BROWDER, Princeton University BERNARD F. BURKE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology GEORGE F. CARRIER, Harvard University CHARLES L. DRAKE, Dartmouth College MILDRED s. DRESSEEHAUS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology JOSEPH L. FISHER, Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia JAMES c. FLETCHER, University of Pittsburgh WILLIAM A. FOWLER, California Institute of Technology GERHART FRIEDEANDER, Brookhaven National Laboratory EDWARD D. GOLDBERG, Scripps Institution of Oceanography MARY L. GOOD, Signal Research Center J. Ross MACDONALD, University of North Carolina THOMAS F. MALONE, Saint Joseph College CHARLES J. MANKIN, Oklahoma Geological Survey PERRY L. MCCARTY, Stanford University WILLIAM D. PHILLIPS, Mallinckrodt, Inc. ROBERT E. SIEVERS, University of Colorado JOHN D. SPENGEER, Harvard School of Public Health GEORGE w. WETHERILE, Carnegie Institution of Washington RAPHAEL G. KASPER, Executive Director LAWRENCE E. MCCRAY, Associate Executive Director V1

Preface This report was prepared by the Panel on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Physics of the Physics Survey Committee in response to its charge to describe the field, to characterize the recent advances, and to identify the current frontiers of research. In carrying out this task, we were helped immeasurably by the members of the AMO community and others whose names appear on the following pages. We thank all of them for their contributions. . . V11

Acknowledgments In preparing this report we have been generously assisted by many members of the AMO community, by colleagues in neighboring fields, and by the National Research Council's Committee on Atomic and Molecular Science whose preliminary work helped to pave the way. We particularly thank L. Armstrong, Jr., and J. L. Dehmer for their assistance. In addition, we thank the following for their contributions: N. Bardsley, G. W. Baughman, G. B. Benedek, H. G. Berry, R. S. Berry, R. J. Bieniek, G. C. Bjorklund, C. Borde, R. G. Brewer, S. J. Brodsky, A. Chutjian, B. Crasemann, S. Datz, P. M. Dehmer, R. D. Deslattes, G. H. Dunn, J. H. Eberly, R. R. Freeman, A. C. Gallagher, T. F. Gallagher, T. F. George, H. M. Gibbs, H. R. Griem, J. L. Hall, S. E. Harris, R. J. W. Henry, J. T. Hougen, M. Inokuti, E. P. Ippen, W. R. Johnson, M. Jones, B. R. Junker, W. E. Kaupilla, H. D. Kelly, E. G. Kessler, A. Kupperman, S. R. Leone, S. Liberman, D. R. Lide, Jr., J. C. Light, C. D. Lin, W. C. Lineberger, T. E. Mady, L. Mandel, V. McKoy, E. Merzbacher, W. E. Meyerhof, D. E. Murnick, J. A. Neff, L. J. Neuringer, D. W. Norcross, R. M. Osgood, A. Owyoung, D. E. Post, Jr., D. E. Pritchard, W. P. Reinhardt, J. S. Risley, R. J. Saykally, D. W. Setser, S. J. Sibener, R. E. Smalley, S. J. Smith, W. W. Smith, A. F. Starace, A. Temkin, D. G. Thomas, J. P. Toennies? R. F. C. Vessot, H. Walther, J. C. Weisheit, and D. C. Wineland. This report was reviewed by the Committee on Atomic and Molec- 1X

X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ular Science, National Research Council, whose members are F. M. Pipkin, Chairman, L. Armstrong, Jr., R. S. Berry, R. Bersohn, J. L. Dehmer, G. H. Dunn, D. E. Golden, G. S. Hurst, H. P. Kelly, K. Kirby, D. Kleppner, J. Macek, G. A. Martin, C. B. Moore, J. T. Moseley, F. Richard, A. Temkin, N. H. Tolk, J. C. Weisheit, and R. C. Woods; D. C. Shapero, StaffDirector. In addition, we thank the following for helpful comments and criticism: H. J. Andra, P. L. Bender, R. B. Bernstein, H. G. Berry, N. Bloembergen, J. Brossel, J. M. Deutch, U. Fano, E. N. Fortson, R. Geballe, S. Haroche, W. G. Harter, P. J. Hay, E. J. Helter, V. Hughes, W. A. Klemperer, Y. T. Lee, R. T. Pack, N. F. Ramsey, C. K. Rhodes, B. Schneider, A. E. Siegman, W. C. Stwalley, and W. R. Wadt.

Contents SUMMARY 1 1 A PROGRAM OF RESEARCH INITIATIVES. . . The Nature of the Field, 7 Organization of the Report, ~ Introduction to the Research Initiatives, 9 Initiative in Atomic Physics, 10 Fundamental Tests and High-Precision Techniques, 10 Many-Electron Dynamics, 14 Transient States of Atomic Systems, 16 Initiative in Molecular Physics, ]S The Physics of Isolated Molecules, 18 The Physics of Molecular Collisions, 22 Initiative in Optical Physics, 23 New Light Sources, 24 Advanced Spectroscopy, 26 Quantum Optics, 28 ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY .. . . ... Demographics of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 29 X1

. . X11 CONTENTS Size of the Field, 29 Employment, 30 Distribution of Effort, 30 The Educational Role of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 30 Scientific Interfaces and Applications, 31 The Economic Impact of Atomic, Molecular, anti Optical Physics, 33 The Health of the Field in the United States, 35 3 RECOMMENDATIONS........ Background The History of Support, 37 Comments, 38 A Plan of Action, 43 Recommendations, 45 Base Support, 45 Instrumentation, 46 Theory, 47 Access to Large Computers, 47 Special Facilities, 48 Accelerator-Based Atomic Physics, 48 Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics with Synchrotron Radiation, 49 Relevance of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Research to the Funding Agencies, 50 Department of Defense, 50 Department of Energy, 51 National Science Foundation, 51 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 52 4 ATOMIC PHYSICS . Elementary Atomic Physics, 53 Advances in Quantum Electrodynamics, 54 Magnetic Moment of the Electron and Positron, 55 Lamb Shift of Hydrogen, 57 Muonium and Positronium, 57 Muonic and Hadronic Atoms, 58 Time-Reversal Symmetry, 58 37 53

CONTENTS Xiii Neutral-Current Parity Violations in Atomic Physics, 59 Foundations of Quantum Theory: Is Quantum Mechanics Complete? 60 Studies of Time and Space, 61 Future Directions, 62 Atomic Structure, 63 Loosely Bound Atomic States, 63 Atoms in Strong Fields, 66 Double-Well Atomic Potentials, 67 Collective Atomic States, 67 Relativistic and Quantum Electrodynamic Effects in Atoms, 68 Atomic Dynamics, 70 Structure of the Electron Continuum, 70 Dielectronic Recombination, 73 UltrasIow Collisions, 74 Collisions with Ry~berg Atoms, 75 Approximate Conservation Laws, 76 Toward the Complete Scattering Experiment, 77 Comparisons of Positron and Electron Scattering, 77 Accelerator-Based Atomic Physics, 78 Atomic Coherence and Out-of-Round Atoms, 79 Quantum Electrodynamics of Highly Charged Systems, 79 Pair Production in Transient Superheavies, 80 Inner-Shell Molecular Orbitals and Molecular Orbital X Rays, 81 Charge Transfer, 81 SIow-Recoi! Ton Production, 82 Tunable X Rays, 83 Atomic Physics Requiring Larger Facilities, 83 Accelerator-Based Atomic Physics, 83 Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics with Synchrotron Radiation, 86 MOLECULAR PHYSICS. The New Spectroscopy, 88 · 88

Xiv CONTENTS New Views of Electronic Structure, 89 Electronic-Structure Theory: Ab Initio Calculations, 92 Hydrogen-Bonded Molecules, 92 Vibrational Structure of Polyatomic Molecules, 93 Molecular Photoionization and Electron-Molecule Scattering, 94 Molecular Photoionization, 95 Molecular Autoionization Dynamics, 95 Shape Resonances in Molecular Fields, 96 Resonant Multiphoton Ionization, 97 Electron-Molecule Collisions, 98 Molecular Dynamics, 99 State-to-State Chemistry, 100 Radiative Collisions, 102 New Ways to Understand the Dynamics of Chemical Reactions, 103 Variational Transition-State Theory, 104 Quasi-cIassical Trajectory Calculations, 105 Approximate Quantum-Scattering Calculations, 105 Resonances in a Simple Reaction Complex, 105 Bond Breaking and "Half-Collisions," 106 Reactions at Very Low Temperatures, 107 Some Novel Molecular Species, 107 Molecular Ions, 108 Van cler Waals Molecules, 109 6 OPTICAL PHYSICS Lasers The Revolution Continues, ~10 Excimers and Excimer Lasers, Il3 Laser Spectroscopy, ~14 Ultraprecise Laser Spectroscopy, Il5 Ultrasensitive Spectroscopy, ~15 Doppler-Free laser Spectroscopy, ~16 Laser Cooling, Il7 Coherent Optical Transients, Il7 Ultranarrow Optical Transitions, Il9 Coherent Raman Spectroscopy, Il9 Il0

CONTENTS XV Quantum Optics and Coherence, 120 Photon Antibunching, 120 Optical Bistability, 121 Squeezed States, 122 RyUberg Atoms and Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics, 123 Femtosecond Spectroscopy, 124 7 SCIENTIFIC INTERFACES. Astrophysics, 126 Atomic Processes, 128 RyUberg Atoms, 128 Interstellar Molecules, 129 Astrophysical Chemistry, 130 Cosmology, 130 Space Physics, 131 Condensed-Matter Physics and Materials Science, 132 Light-Scattering Spectroscopy, 132 Clusters, 134 Ultranarrow Optical Transitions, 136 Spin-Polarized Quantum Fluids, 136 Surface Science, 138 Molecular-Beam Surface Scattering, 138 Metal Clusters, 139 Studying Surfaces with Laser Light, 141 The Role of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Data in Surface Science, 142 Plasma Physics, 143 Atmospheric Physics, 144 Nuclear Physics, 146 Optical Studies of the Nucleus, 146 Polarized Nuclear Sources, 149 Dynamics at the Atom-Nuclear Frontier, 149 126 8 APPLICATIONS OF ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Precision Measurement Techniques, 151 Fusion, 155

XVI CONTENTS Magnetic Confinement, 157 Inertial Confinement, 158 National Security, 159 Fiber-Optics Communications, 162 Manufacturing with Lasers, 164 Materials Processing, 166 Laser-lnduced Surface Chemistry, 166 Ion Implantation, ~ 66 Data-Base Services, 167 Medical Physics, 169 Laser Surgery, 169 Magnetic-Resonance Whole-Body Imaging, 171 FURTHER READING INDEX 175 177

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The goals of atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO physics) are to elucidate the fundamental laws of physics, to understand the structure of matter and how matter evolves at the atomic and molecular levels, to understand light in all its manifestations, and to create new techniques and devices. AMO physics provides theoretical and experimental methods and essential data to neighboring areas of science such as chemistry, astrophysics, condensed-matter physics, plasma physics, surface science, biology, and medicine. It contributes to the national security system and to the nation's programs in fusion, directed energy, and materials research. Lasers and advanced technologies such as optical processing and laser isotope separation have been made possible by discoveries in AMO physics, and the research underlies new industries such as fiber-optics communications and laser-assisted manufacturing. These developments are expected to help the nation to maintain its industrial competitiveness and its military strength in the years to come. This report describes the field, characterizes recent advances, and identifies current frontiers of research.

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