OPTICAL-PUMPING BETWEEN LEVELS OF A BISTABLE STATE OF ALKALI ATOMS TRAPPED IN RARE-GAS MATRICES

The results of pseudopotential calculations of the interaction of an alkali atom with its rare-gas neighbors in a solid matrix are presented. They can explain an interesting effect which appears to be due to optical pumping between two equilibrium positions in a bistable trapping site. © 1979 The American Physical Society.