EXCITATION OF ATOMS PASSING THROUGH A TEM00 GAUSSIAN LASER-BEAM AT RELATIVISTIC VELOCITIES

The spectral distribution seen by an atom crossing a monochromatic Gaussian TEMOO beam with a relativistic speed normal to the direction of propagation of the beam is shown to be independent of the distance between the atom’s path and the position of the beam’s minimum waist. The dependence of the transition probability on the beam coordinates is also given. Finally, it is shown that the spectral width can be viewed as being due to the angular distribution of the plane waves of which the Gaussian TEMoo beam is composed. © 1990 Optical Society of America.