Physics of Rydberg Plasmas

G. Taban, M.P. Reijnders, S.B. van der Geer +2 more

José Tito Mendonça, Hugo Terças

Feng Zhi

The formation of ultra-cold neutral plasmas has important significance for studies of traditional plasma physics.This paper describes the physical mechanism of the formation and measurement of ultra-cold neutral plasmas,and gives a detailed analysis of the plasma expansion,formation of Rydberg atoms,evolution of the electron temperature,and heating or cooling effects of the electrons during expansion.A brief review of current theoretical models is also given.

Raymond Flannery

S. L. Rolston, Robert Samuel Fletcher, Xianli Zhang

Ultracold neutral plasmas are formed by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms. The resulting plasmas are the coldest neutral plasmas ever formed, exhibiting a rich variety of behavior, including Rydberg atom formation, driven expansion, and plasma instabilities.

Thomas Pattard, Thomas Pohl, Jan Michael Rost