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Physical Review Letters

Phase Coexistence and a Critical Point in Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

Padma Kant Shukla, K. Avinash

Published Sep 21, 2011• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show the existence of the liquid-vapor phase coexistence and a critical point for strongly coupled ions in ultracold neutral (UCN) plasmas. Expressions for the free energy of UCN plasmas and an equation of state for the ions are obtained in the mean field approximation. A van der Waals-like isotherm shows the existence of a critical point in UCN plasmas. Depending on the ion temperature, the ions are shown to exist in a mixed vapor-liquid phase for a range of the ion Coulomb coupling parameter Γ(i) (defined by the ratio between the ion interaction and the ion kinetic energies), and in a strongly coupled liquid state for values of Γ(i) above this range. The estimates of critical constants show that it may be possible to observe these phenomena in the present day UCN plasmas.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.107.135002

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We show the existence of the liquid-vapor phase coexistence and a critical point for strongly coupled ions in ultracold neutral (UCN) plasmas. Expressions for the free energy of UCN plasmas and an equation of state for the ions are obtained in the mean field approximation. A van der Waals-like isotherm shows the existence of a critical point in UCN plasmas. Depending on the ion temperature, the ions are shown to exist in a mixed vapor-liquid phase for a range of the ion Coulomb coupling parameter Γ(i) (defined by the ratio between the ion interaction and the ion kinetic energies), and in a strongly coupled liquid state for values of Γ(i) above this range. The estimates of critical constants show that it may be possible to observe these phenomena in the present day UCN plasmas.
We present an equation of state for mildly coupled ions in ultra-cold neutral (UCN) plasmas. By introducing the mean field approximation, we obtain expressions for free energy and pressure of ions. It is found that below a critical temperature, the ions undergo a first-order phase transition and exist in a mixed vapor?liquid phase for a range of values of the ion Coulomb coupling parameter ?i (=?the ion Coulomb energy/the ion kinetic energy), and in a mildly coupled liquid state for values of ?i above this range. Our analytical results demonstrate that the phenomena of phase transitions, as reported herein, are relevant for the existing computer simulations and are expected to be observed in the forthcoming UCN laboratory plasma experiments.
Using high-resolution laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, ion dynamics in\nan expanding ultracold neutral plasma (UNP) have been studied in unprecedented\ndetail. The evolution of the ion temperature is of great interest because the ions in\nan ultracold neutral plasma are strongly coupled, meaning their Coulomb interaction\nenergy exceeds the thermal energy. This leads to novel plasma properties that are\nhard to describe theoretically. Understanding all the factors that contribute to ion\ntemperature evolution is critical for designing schemes to cool the ions and achieve\neven stronger Coulomb coupling.\nThis work has also observed several phenomena that have not previously been\nstudied in ultracold plasmas. Ion adiabatic cooling has been observed in a UNP for\nthe first time, resulting in ion temperatures as low as 100mK and up to a tripling of\nthe Coulomb coupling parameter. The importance of electron-ion energy transfer is\ndemonstrated with the first observations of electron-ion collisional heating. Inclusion\nof this effect into existing numerical models provides better agreement with experimental\nresults. Results of molecular dynamics simulations of equilibrating plasmas\nhave been compared to early time experimental data, which provides a new method\nof density determination that is much less sensitive to experimental systematics and\nis accurate to within 10%. This improved certainty in the density allows accurate\ncomparison between data and a theoretical model of the plasma dynamics. The\nagreement is excellent, but on a hydrodynamic time scale a small amount of extra\nheat (on order of 100mK), not ascribable to electron-ion collisions or other sources in\nthe model, is detected in the ion component. Potential sources are discussed within\nas well as proposals for further studies and improvements.
Phase diagrams for the "shelf Coulomb" and the modified pseudopotential plasma models developed in our previous works are compared. Qualitative agreement is observed between gas-liquid phase transition region of "shelf Coulomb" model and liquid-gas structure region of modified pseudopotential one. The possibility of experimental finding of the phase transition in nonequilibrium ultracold Rydberg plasma is considered. Parameters (density, temperature, levels of Rydberg atoms) for such a transition are estimated. Conclusion is made that "shelf Coulomb" model phase transition is practically impossible to observe in equilibrium strongly coupled plasmas due to high neutral atoms density at low temperatures: T crit ≈ 0.076.
Plasmas are normally thought of as high temperature ionized gases or fluids, such as those in the sun's corona or those found in controlled nuclear fusion experiments.Many interesting plasma phenomena can occur, however, in plasmas at low temperature.With the help of laser trapping and cooling, atoms can be photoionized to form neutral plasmas at extremely low temperatures.These plasmas may exist in the so-called strong coupling regime, where the energy of the Coulomb interactions between particles is larger than their thermal energy.In addition to providing a test bed for studying the strongly coupled plasmas such as those found in Jovian planets and white dwarfs, ultracold plasmas play a critical role in understanding the formation of antihydrogen.