5 research outputs found
High Resolution Ionization of Ultracold Neutral Plasmas
Collective effects, such as waves and instabilities, are integral to our
understanding of most plasma phenomena. We have been able to study these in
ultracold neutral plasmas by shaping the initial density distribution through
spatial modulation of the ionizing laser intensity. We describe a relay imaging
system for the photoionization beam that allows us to create higher resolution
features and its application to extend the observation of ion acoustic waves to
shorter wavelengths. We also describe the formation of sculpted density
profiles to create fast expansion of plasma into vacuum and streaming plasmas
Creating and studying ion acoustic waves in ultracold neutral plasmas
We excite ion acoustic waves in ultracold neutral plasmas by imprinting
density modulations during plasma creation. Laser-induced fluorescence is used
to observe the density and velocity perturbations created by the waves. The
effect of expansion of the plasma on the evolution of the wave amplitude is
described by treating the wave action as an adiabatic invariant. After
accounting for this effect, we determine that the waves are weakly damped, but
the damping is significantly faster than expected for Landau damping