Electron screening and kinetic-energy oscillations in a strongly coupled plasma

We study equilibration of strongly coupled ions in an ultracold neutral plasma produced by photoionizing laser-cooled and trapped atoms. By varying the electron temperature, we show that electron screening modifies the equilibrium ion temperature. Even with few electrons in a Debye sphere, the scree...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2004-12, Vol.93 (26), p.265003.1-265003.4, Article 265003
Main Authors: CHEN, Y. C, SIMIEN, C. E, LAHA, S, GUPTA, P, MARTINEZ, Y. N, MICKELSON, P. G, NAGEL, S. B, KILLIAN, T. C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic and molecular physics
Atomic properties and interactions with photons
Basic studies of specific kinds of plasmas
Exact sciences and technology
Laser light absorption in plasmas (collisional, parametric, etc. )
Laser-plasma interactions
Optical (ultraviolet, visible, infrared) measurements
Optical cooling of atoms
trapping
Photon interactions with atoms
Physics
Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges
Physics of plasmas and electric discharges
Plasma diagnostic techniques and instrumentation
Strongly-coupled plasmas
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Summary:We study equilibration of strongly coupled ions in an ultracold neutral plasma produced by photoionizing laser-cooled and trapped atoms. By varying the electron temperature, we show that electron screening modifies the equilibrium ion temperature. Even with few electrons in a Debye sphere, the screening is well described by a model using a Yukawa ion-ion potential. We also observe damped oscillations of the ion kinetic energy that are a unique feature of equilibration of a strongly coupled plasma.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.93.265003