Michail E. Koutrakis

Recently, our group produced spin-polarized hydrogen (SPH) atoms at densities of at least 10 ¹⁹ cm ⁻³ from the photodissociation of hydrogen halide molecules with circularly polarized UV light and measured them via magnetization-quantum beats with a pickup coil. These densities are approximately 7 orders of magnitude higher than those produced usin...

We introduce the concept of an asymptotic spatial angular-momentum wavefunction, Xmjφ,θ,χ=eimφδθ−θm eij+12χ, which treats j in the jm state as a three-dimensional entity; φ, θ, χ are the Euler angles, and θm is the Vector-Model polar angle, given by cosθm=m/j. A wealth of geometric information about j can be deduced from the eigenvalues and spatial...

Recently, the production of ultrahigh-density (∼1019cm−3) spin-polarized deuterium (SPD) atoms was demonstrated, from the photodissociation of deuterium iodide, but the upper density limit was not determined. Here, we present studies of spin-polarized hydrogen (SPH) densities up to 1020cm−3, by photodissociating 5 bar of hydrogen chloride with a fo...

In quantum mechanics, spatial wavefunctions describe distributions of a particle's position or momentum, but not of angular momentum $j$. In contrast, here we show that a spatial wavefunction, $j_m (\phi,\theta,\chi)=~e^{i m \phi} \delta (\theta - \theta_m) ~e^{i(j+1/2)\chi}$, which treats $j$ in the $|jm>$ state as a three-dimensional entity, is a...

Recently, the production of ultrahigh-density ($>10^{19} cm^{-3}$) spin-polarized D atoms was demonstrated, from the photodissociation of deuterium iodide, but the upper density limit was not determined. Here, we present studies of spin-polarized hydrogen (SPH) densities up to $10^{20}$\si{\per\centi\meter\cubed}, by photodissociating 5 bar of hydr...