Bragg Diffraction from Crystallized Ion Plasmas

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 279; no. 5351; pp. 686 - 689
• Main Authors: Itano, W. M., Bollinger, J. J., Tan, J. N., Jelenković, B., X.-P. Huang, Wineland, D. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 30.01.1998; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Body centered cubic lattices; Braggs law; Crystals; Diffraction; Emission, absorption, and scattering of x and γ radiation; Exact sciences and technology; Face centered cubic lattices; Geometric planes; Ionic crystals; Ions; Laser beams; Lasers; Observations; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma; Plasma properties; Plasmas; Spherical plasmas; Wave diffraction; Laser cooling; Time resolution; Beryllium ions; Experimental study; Bragg diffraction; Ion plasma
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5351.686

Single crystals of a one-component plasma were observed by optical Bragg diffraction. The plasmas contained 10$^5$ to 10$^6$ single-positive beryllium-9 ions ($^9$Be$^+$) at particle densities of 10$^8$ to 10$^9$ per cubic centimeter. In approximately spherical plasmas, single body-centered cubic (bcc) crystals or, in some cases, two or more bcc crystals having fixed orientations with respect to each other were observed. In some oblate plasmas, a mixture of bcc and face-centered cubic ordering was seen. Knowledge of the properties of one-component plasma crystals is required for models of white dwarfs and neutron stars, which are believed to contain matter in that form.