Ultracold neutral plasmas: recent experiments and new prospects
- 23 May 2003
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Physics A: General Physics
- Vol. 36 (22), 6077-6085
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0305-4470/36/22/333
Abstract
Photoionizing laser-cooled atoms produces ultracold neutral plasmas with initial temperatures of 1–1000 K and densities as high as 1010 cm−3. Applied radio frequency fields can excite plasma oscillations that are used to monitor the expansion of the unconfined plasma. Significant three-body recombination of electrons and ions into Rydberg atoms takes place during the plasma expansion. Previous experiments have been done with xenon, but a new experiment is planned with laser-cooled strontium. The strontium ion has an optically allowed transition at a convenient blue wavelength. This will allow direct imaging of the plasma through fluorescence or absorption, and may enable laser cooling and trapping of the plasma.Keywords
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