Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
Coulomb expansion of laser-excited ion plasmas
D Feldbaum1, N V Morrow, S K Dutta
1FOCUS Center, Physics Department, University of Michigan, 500 East University, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1120, USA.
Abstract:
We determine the electric field in mm-sized clouds of cold Rb+ ions, produced by photoionization of laser-cooled 87Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap, using the Stark effect of embedded Rydberg atoms. The dependence of the electric field on the time delay between the ion plasma production and the probe of the electric field reflects the Coulomb expansion of the plasma. Our experiments and models show expansion times <1micros.
Related Concept Videos
Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge
Coulomb's Law
Newton's third law applies to the Coulomb force — the force on...
Coulomb's Law and The Principle of Superposition
The Principle of Superposition answers the question. Yes, Coulomb's Law applies to each pair of charges, and the net force on each charge is the vector sum of the...
Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS): Overview
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Principle
The ions and electrons produced interact with the fluctuating magnetic field created by a water-cooled...
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
There are three main types of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) instruments: sequential, simultaneous multichannel, and Fourier transform instruments, with the latter being less commonly used.

