Population evolution of Rydberg rubidium atoms by half-cycle pulses

Using the B-spline basis set method combined with model potential, the Stark energy level of rubidium atoms in the vicinity of n = 30 is presented. By using a using time-dependent multilevel approach, we calculate the population redistribution of high Rydberg rubidium atoms under the interaction of external time-dependent half-cycle pulses. Our numerical results show that the population of rubidium atoms can be driven to lower or higher n levels with a train of half cycle pulses, the final population distribution of all the l states for the same n is observed after these interactions. (authors)