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Plasma formation from ultracold Rydberg gases

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
; ;  [1]
  1. MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems, Noethnitzer Strasse 38, D-01187 Dresden, (Germany)
Recent experiments have demonstrated the spontaneous evolution of a gas of ultracold Rydberg atoms into an expanding ultracold plasma, as well as the reverse process of plasma recombination into highly excited atomic states. Treating the evolution of the plasma on the basis of kinetic equations, while ionization/excitation and recombination are incorporated using rate equations, we have investigated theoretically the Rydberg-to-plasma transition. Including the influence of spatial correlations on the plasma dynamics in an approximate way, we find that ionic correlations change the results quantitatively but not qualitatively.
OSTI ID:
20639847
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 68; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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