Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 5: Ultra-Cold Atoms: Rydberg Gases / Miscellaneous (with Q)

A 5.1: Prize Talk

Monday, March 8, 2010, 16:30–17:00, A 320

Highly excited atoms in cold environments: From antihydro- gen production to ultracold plasmas and Rydberg gases — •Thomas Pohl — Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Sys- teme, Nöthnitzer Str. 38, 01187 Dresden --- Laureate of the Gustav-Hertz-Prize

The production of cold antihydrogen atoms at CERN marks a major development in AMO as well particle physics, as it holds great promise for high precession-spectroscopy tests of CPT invariance and for investigating matter-antimatter gravity. Since they form in highly excited states, successful cooling and trapping of antihydrogen atoms relies on the special properties of Rydberg atoms and how they form in the strong magnetic fields of anti-matter plasma traps.

Here, I will report on recent progress in understanding the formation of Rydberg atoms in antihydrogen traps as well as in ultracold neutral plasmas, as produced from laser-cooled atomic gases. This also includes fundamental questions concerning the nature of recombination processes in ultracold, so-called strongly coupled systems and is important for pushing the temperature limits of Rydberg plasmas. Controlling the temperature in ultracold plasmas and Rydberg gases is shown to open up a diverse range of interesting phenomena, such as dynamical crystallization processes in the classical as well as in the quantum domain.