Creation of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma
Plasma Physics
2009-10-31 v2 Atomic Physics
Abstract
We report the creation of an ultracold neutral plasma by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms. The charge carrier density is as high as 2 x 10^9 cm^-3, and the temperatures of electrons and ions are as low as 100 mK and 10 uK, respectively. Plasma behavior is evident in the trapping of electrons by the positive ion cloud when the Debye screening length becomes smaller than the size of the sample. We produce plasmas with parameters such that both electrons and ions are strongly coupled.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/9908051,
title = {Creation of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma},
author = {T. C. Killian and S. Kulin and S. D. Bergeson and L. A. Orozco and C. Orzel and S. L. Rolston},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/9908051},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages, 3 figures