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Scientific paper
Dec 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992aas...181.2906p&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 181st AAS Meeting, #29.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 24, p.1166
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1
Scientific paper
The possibility in principle of using atoms as remote probes of spacetime properties is extremely stimulating, not only theoretically, but also from the point of view of actual gravimetric observations. Such observations would allow for the spectroscopic determination of the average density of neutron star-like objects. However, the energy shifts induced by the local spacetime curvature on one-electron atoms in tightly-bound states, first calculated by Parker (1980), are extremely small and unlikely to be observed under ordinary circumstances. In this paper the possibility is explored to use atoms in highly excited states, commonly referred to as Rydberg atoms, to measure the local values of the Riemann tensor components in remote regions of space-time. Since atoms in such exotic states are quite fragile structures, their behavior is dramatically affected by perturbations, even if very small. The first order corrections to the non-relativistic nS and nP states for n>2 are obtained for the first time. A procedure to evaluate corrections of any order is outlined and applied to the 1S state in a spherical symmetry. Simplified semi-classical approaches are also presented for the first time. Possible radio recombination line observations from atoms near objects of neutron star-like densities are discussed. The turbulent Doppler broadening constrains the principal quantum number to be n~ 900 or larger. By using the Goldreich-Julian electron density in the magnetosphere of a neutron star, one can show that the pressure (Stark) line broadening may be very effective in destroying such highly excited states, unless the star rotates quite slowly. It will be of immediate interest to see how these conclusions are modified in metrics other than that of Schwarzschild, such as, for instance, in the case of rapidly rotating dense objects, and in the presence of intense magnetic fields. REFERENCES: L. Parker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 44, 1559 (1980); L. Parker, Phys. Rev. D 22, 1922 (1980); F. Pinto, submitted to the Phys. Rev. Lett. (1992); F. Pinto, to be submitted to the Phys. Rev. D;
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