Scott Bergeson

Creation of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma

The study of ionized gases in neutral plasma physics spans temperatures ranging from 10 16 K in the magnetosphere of a pulsar to 300 K in the earth’s ionosphere [1]. At lower temperatures, the properties of plasmas are expected to differ significantly. For instance, three-body recombination, which is prevalent in high temperature plasmas, should be suppressed [2]. If the thermal energy of the particles is less than the Coulomb interaction energy, the plasma becomes strongly coupled, and the usual hydrodynamic equations of motion and collective mode dispersion relations are no longer valid [3]. Strongly coupled plasmas are difficult to produce in the laboratory and only a handful of examples exist [4], but such plasmas do occur naturally in astrophysical systems. In this work, we create an ultracold neutral plasma with an electron temperature as low as Te 100 mK, an ion temperature as low as Ti 10 mK, and densities as high as n 2 3 10 9 cm 23 . We obtain this novel plasma by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms. Within the experimentally accessible ranges of temperatures and densities, both components can be simultaneously strongly coupled. A simple model describes the evolution of the plasma in terms of the competition between the kinetic energy of the electrons and the Coulomb attraction between electrons and ions. A numerical calculation accurately reproduces the data. Photoionization and laser cooling have been used before in plasma experiments. Photoionization in a 600 K Cs vapor cell produced a plasma with Te

Plasma Oscillations and Expansion of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma

2000 K [5], and a strongly coupled non-neutral plasma was created by laser cooling magnetically trapped Be 1 ions [6]. A plasma is often defined as an ionized gas in which the charged particles exhibit collective effects [7]. The length scale which divides individual particle behavior and collective behavior is the Debye screening length lD. It is the distance over which an electric field is screened by redistribution of electrons in the plasma, and is given by lD p

Radiative lifetimes, branching rations, and absolute transition probabilities in Cr II and Zn II

We report the observation of plasma oscillations in an ultracold neutral plasma. With this collective mode we probe the electron density distribution and study the expansion of the plasma as a function of time. For classical plasma conditions, i.e., weak Coulomb coupling, the expansion is dominated by the pressure of the electron gas and is described by a hydrodynamic model. Discrepancies between the model and observations at low temperature and high density may be due to strong coupling of the electrons.

Two-photon frequency comb spectroscopy of the 6s-8s transition in cesium

New absolute atomic transition probability measurements are reported for 12 transitions in Cr II and two transitions in Zn II. These transition probabilities are determined by combining branching ratios measured by classical techniques and radiative lifetimes measured by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence. The measurements are compared with branching fractions, radiative lifetimes, and transition probabilities in the literature. The 206 nm resonance multiplets in Cr II and Zn II are included in this work. These multiplets are very useful in determining the distribution of the elements in the gas versus grain phases in the interstellar medium.

A hypervelocity - microparticle - impacts laboratory with 100-km/s projectiles

We report a new absolute frequency measurement of the Cs 6s-8s two-photon transition measured using frequency comb spectroscopy. The fractional frequency uncertainty is 5x10(-11), a factor of 6 better than previous results. The comb is derived from a stabilized picosecond laser and referenced to an octave-spanning femtosecond frequency comb. The relative merits of picosecond-based frequency combs are discussed, and it is shown that the AC Stark shift of the transition is determined by the average rather than the much larger peak intensity.

Fluorescence measurements of expanding strongly coupled neutral plasmas.

Abstract A hypervelocity-microparticle-impacts (HMI) laboratory has been developed at the Ion Beam Facility (IBF) of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) using a 6-MV Van de Graaff accelerator. The purpose of the laboratory is to characterize physical phenomena associated with hypervelocity impacts. Submicrometer-sized particles with velocities ranging from less than 1 km/s to greater than 100 km/s have been produced and detected. The technology development program is emphasized, and the results of a few preliminary experiments such as impact cratering and the determination of conducting-polymer size distributions are reported.

Branching Fractions and Oscillator Strengths for Fe II Transitions from the 3d 6 ( 5 D)4p Subconfiguration

We report new detailed density profile measurements in expanding strongly coupled neutral calcium plasmas. Using laser-induced fluorescence techniques, we determine plasma densities in the range of 10(5) to 10(9) cm(-3) to with a time resolution limit as small as 7 ns. Strong coupling in the plasma ions is inferred directly from the fluorescence signals. Evidence for strong coupling at late times is presented, confirming a recent theoretical result.

Oscillator Strengths of the Si II 181 Nanometer Resonance Multiplet

New experimental branching fractions and transition probabilities are reported for 56 transitions in FeII. The branching fractions are measured with a Fourier transform spectrometer and also with a high-resolution grating spectrometer on an optically thin hollow cathode discharge. Highly accurate experimental radiative lifetimes from the recent literature provide the normalization required to convert our branching fractions into absolute transition probabilities. Results are compared with experimental and theoretical values in the literature. Our new transition probabilities will establish the absolute scale for relative absorption oscillator strengths of vacuum ultraviolet lines measured using a new high-sensitivity absorption experiment at the University of Wisconsin. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Astronomical Society.}

Demonstration of a 1-W injection-locked continuous-wave titanium:sapphire laser

We report Si II experimental log (gf)-values of -2.38(4) for the 180.801 nm line, of -2.18(4) for the 181.693 nm line, and of -3.29(5) for the 181.745 nm line, where the number in parentheses is the uncertainty in the last digit. The overall uncertainties (about 10 percent) include the 1 sigma random uncertainty (about 6 percent) and an estimate of the systematic uncertainty. The oscillator strengths are determined by combining branching fractions and radiative lifetimes. The branching fractions are measured using standard spectroradiometry on an optically thin source; the radiative lifetimes are measured using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence.

Oscillator Strengths for Fe II Transitions at 224.918 and 226.008 Nanometers

We report on a 1-W injection-locked cw titanium:sapphire ring laser at 846 nm. Single-frequency operation requires only a few milliwatts of injected power. This relatively simple and inexpensive system can be used for watt-level single-frequency lasers across most of the titanium:sapphire gain region. A brief review of injection-locking theory is given, and conclusions based on this theory indicate ways to improve the performance of the system.