Rydberg atoms interact with metal surfaces in a qualitatively different way from ground state atoms. In particular, a Rydberg atom may be field-ionized by its image. Laser cooling and the newly developed technology of magnetic microtraps (atom chips) offer the potential of studying Rydberg state spectra and the image field ionization process at well-defined distances from a metal surface. We are currently constructing an apparatus for these studies, and will report our current progress.
Work supported by NSERC, CFI, OIT, and done in collaboration with O. Cherry, J. Carter, and M. Fedorov.