Keywords

Rydberg atoms, plasmas, kinetic energy, free electrons

Abstract

We study the formation of Rydberg atoms in expanding plasmas at temperatures of 1–1000 K and densities from 10^5–10^10 cm^-3. Up to 20% of the initially free charges recombine in about 100 us, and the binding energy of the Rydberg atoms approximately equals the increase in the kinetic energy of the remaining free electrons. Three-body recombination is expected to dominate in this regime, yet most of our results are inconsistent with this mechanism.

Original Publication Citation

T. C. Killian, M. J. Lim, S. Kulin, R. Dumke, S. D. Bergeson, and S.L. Rolston, “Formation of Rydberg atoms in an expanding ultracold neutral plasma,” Physical Review Letters, 86, 3759-3762 (21). The original publication of this article can be found at http://link.aps.org/doi/1.113/PhysRevLett.86.3759