Creation of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma
نویسندگان
چکیده
We report the creation of an ultracold neutral plasma by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms. The charge carrier density is as high as 2 3 109 cm23, and the temperatures of electrons and ions are as low as 100 mK and 10 mK, respectively. Plasma behavior is evident in the trapping of electrons by the positive ion cloud when the Debye screening length becomes smaller than the size of the sample. We produce plasmas with parameters such that both electrons and ions are strongly coupled.
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