| Presenter: | Rafael Manso Sainz |
| Affiliation: | Instituto de astrofisica de Canarias |
| Title: | Self-alignment of atomic hydrogen in the presence electric fields |
| Authors: | R. Casini, R. Manso Sainz |
| Form: | poster |
| Abstract: | We report on the possibility of the levels of hydrogen atoms to align themselves in the presence of electric fields, even when the illumination conditions of the atoms are such that radiation-induced alignment is absent. Such electric self-alignment produces observable effects, in terms of polarization of the scattered radiation. In particular, it can be converted into atomic orientation---if a magnetic field is also present---giving rise to net circular polarization. In this letter we discuss the conditions under which this phenomenon of self-alignment can occur, assuming that the atomic system is illuminated by a spectrally flat radiation, and the reason why an analogous effect is not induced instead in the presence of a magnetic field alone. |
| Session: | 2. Polarization physics in magnetized media |
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