Dynamics of Ultracold Neutral Plasmas in the First 100 NS

在这项工作中所做的实验将推动强耦合中性系统的前沿。超冷中性等离子体为研究多体相互作用和粒子相关性提供了一个理想的系统。这些关联被预测将改变密集高能等离子体的集体行为。它们也被预测会改变等离子体中的基本原子过程，如离子热化、三体重组和碰撞电离。超冷中性等离子体在相空间中占据着独特的位置，在原子、等离子体和凝聚态物理的交汇处。我们通过将激光冷却的原子激发到接近电离极限的状态来制造这些等离子体。初始密度、离子温度和电子温度独立控制，精度高。高分辨率光谱工具用于诊断等离子体状态。这些对超冷中性等离子体的研究直接有助于我们对其他强耦合系统的理解。这项工作的更广泛的影响是培养原子物理学的本科生和研究生。PI在指导本科生和研究生方面有着良好的记录，帮助他们在全国会议上发表自己的研究成果，并与他们共同撰写同行评议的出版物。这项工作也促进了杨百翰大学以外的科学教育。该项目将继续招募高中教师作为暑期研究助理，并与杨百翰大学的REU/RET项目进行互动。一些激光设备将继续在激光物理研究生课程中使用。PI还偶尔组织小学参观，向年轻和崭露头角的科学家展示激光的一些美丽和令人兴奋的特性。这项研究对科学技术的许多领域都很重要。强耦合发生在一些天体物理环境、高能量密度等离子体、夸克-胶子等离子体、BEC/BCS交叉、莫特-绝缘体跃迁、非中性和尘埃等离子体以及其他系统中。在这些系统中计算是困难的，因为重要的时间尺度范围很广。这些基准测量可用于指导这些系统中的模拟。

The experiments to be done in this work will push the frontier of strongly coupled neutral systems. Ultracold neutral plasmas provide an idealized system in which to probe the effects of many-body interactions and particle correlations. These correlations are predicted to change the collective behavior of dense energetic plasmas. They are also predicted to alter fundamental atomic processes in plasmas such as ion thermalization, three-body recombination, and collisional ionization. Ultra-cold neutral plasmas occupy a unique place in phase space, at the confluence of atomic, plasma, and condensed matter physics. We create these plasmas by exciting laser-cooled atoms to states near the ionization limit. The initial density, ion temperature, and electron temperature are independently controlled with high precision. High-resolution spectroscopic tools are used to diagnose the plasma state. These studies of ultracold neutral plasmas directly contribute to our understanding other strongly coupled systems. The broader impacts of this work are the training of undergraduate and graduate students in atomic physics. The PI has a strong track record of mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, helping them present their own reseach national meetings, and co-authoring peer-reviewed publications with them. This work also improves science education outside of BYU. This project will continue to recruit high school teachers as summertime research assistants and to interact with BYU's REU/RET program. Some of the laser facilities will continue to be used in a graduate course in Laser Physics. The PI also hosts occasional elementary school tours, demonstrating some of the beautiful and exciting properties of lasers to young and budding scientists. The research will be important to a number of areas in science and technology. Strong coupling occurs in some astrophysical environments, high energy density plasmas, quark-gluon plasmas, the BEC/BCS crossover, the Mott-insulator transition, non-neutral and dusty plasmas, and other systems. Calculations in these systems are difficult because of the wide range of important time scales. These benchmark measurements can be used to guide simulations in these systems.