Laser-Generated Waves and Wakes in Rotating Ion Crystals

J. M. Kriesel; J. J. Bollinger; T. B. Mitchell; L. B. King; D. H. E. Dubin

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.125003

Laser-Generated Waves and Wakes in Rotating Ion Crystals

J. M. Kriesel, J. J. Bollinger, T. B. Mitchell, L. B. King, and D. H. E. Dubin

Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 125003 – Published 7 March 2002

Abstract

Locally excited plasma waves are generated in a Coulomb crystal by “pushing” with radiation pressure on a rotating cloud of laser-cooled $^{9} {Be}^{+}$ ions. The waves form a stationary wake that is directly imaged through the dependence of the ion fluorescence on Doppler shifts, and theoretical calculations in a slab geometry are shown to accurately reproduce these images. The technique demonstrates a new method of exciting and studying waves in cold ion clouds.

Received 7 January 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.125003

Authors & Affiliations

J. M. Kriesel¹, J. J. Bollinger¹, T. B. Mitchell^1,*, L. B. King^1,†, and D. H. E. Dubin²

¹Time & Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
²Physics Department, University of California, San Diego, California 92093

^*Current address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716.
^†Current address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931.