Behavior of Rydberg energy level shifts atoms at surfaces: and ionization

The ionization of xenon atoms excited to the extreme red and blue states in high-lying Xe(n) Stark manifolds at a metal surface is investigated. The data show that, despite their very different initial spatial characteristics, the extreme members of a given Stark manifold ionize at similar atom/surface separations. This is explained, with the aid of complex scaling calculations, in terms of the strong perturbations in the energies and structure of the atomic states induced by the presence of the surface which lead to avoided crossings between neighboring levels as the surface is approached. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.