Charge, density and electron temperature in a molecular ultracold plasma

C. J. Rennick; J. P. Morrison; J. Ortega-Arroyo; P. J. Godin; N. Saquet; E. R. Grant

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arXiv · 0911.0466

Charge, density and electron temperature in a molecular ultracold plasma

C. J. Rennick·J. P. Morrison·J. Ortega-Arroyo·P. J. Godin·N. Saquet·E. R. Grant

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Abstract

A Rydberg gas of NO entrained in a supersonic molecular beam releases electrons as it evolves to form an ultracold plasma. The size of this signal, compared with that extracted by the subsequent application of a pulsed electric field, determines the absolute magnitude of the plasma charge. This information, combined with the number density of ions, supports a simple thermochemical model that explains the evolution of the plasma to an ultracold electron temperature.

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C. J. Rennick, J. P. Morrison, J. Ortega-Arroyo, P. J. Godin, N. Saquet, E. R. Grant. 2009-11-03. Charge, density and electron temperature in a molecular ultracold plasma. https://arxiv.org/abs/0911.0466

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