Ion temperature evolution in an ultracold neutral plasma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States)
We study the long-time evolution of the ion temperature in an expanding ultracold neutral plasma using spatially resolved, laser-induced-fluorescence spectroscopy. Adiabatic cooling reduces the ion temperature by an order of magnitude during the plasma expansion, to temperatures as low as 0.2 K. Cooling is limited by heat exchange between ions and the much hotter electrons. We also present evidence for an additional heating mechanism and discuss possible sources. Data are described by a model of the plasma evolution, including the effects of ion-electron heat exchange. We show that for appropriate initial conditions, the degree of Coulomb coupling of ions in the plasma increases during expansion.
- OSTI ID:
- 22408261
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 22; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Electron-Temperature Evolution in Expanding Ultracold Neutral Plasmas
Creating and studying ion acoustic waves in ultracold neutral plasmas
Relaxation to Nonequilibrium in Expanding Ultracold Neutral Plasmas
Journal Article
·
Fri Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2007
· Physical Review Letters
·
OSTI ID:21028150
Creating and studying ion acoustic waves in ultracold neutral plasmas
Journal Article
·
Tue May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2012
· Physics of Plasmas
·
OSTI ID:22072368
Relaxation to Nonequilibrium in Expanding Ultracold Neutral Plasmas
Journal Article
·
Fri May 27 00:00:00 EDT 2005
· Physical Review Letters
·
OSTI ID:20696316