Laser induced ionising collisions with cold metastable neon
Abstract
Modification of the ionising collision rate is demonstrated with cold (~1 mK) metastable neon (Ne*) 3P2 gas in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). A laser tuned close to the 3P2 to 3D3 cooling transition is used as a 'catalysis' to induce collisions between a pairs of trapped metastables. A complex spectrum is observed which demonstrates a dependence on the magnetic sublevels of the transition that the catalysis laser is exciting.
Conference Title
Proceedings of the Australasian Conference on Optics, Lasers, and Spectroscopy and Australian Conference on Optical Fibre Technology in association with the International Workshop on Dissipative Solitons 2009
Subject
Optical Physics not elsewhere classified