Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 223201 (2008) [4 pages]Rydberg Atom Formation in Ultracold Plasmas: Small Energy Transfer with Large ConsequencesReceived 13 November 2007; revised 21 March 2008; published 5 June 2008 We present extensive Monte Carlo calculations of electron-impact-induced transitions between highly excited Rydberg states and provide accurate rate coefficients. For moderate energy changes, our calculations confirm the widely applied expressions in P. Mansbach and J. Keck [ Phys. Rev. 181 275 (1969)] but reveal strong deviations at small energy transfer. Simulations of ultracold plasmas demonstrate that these corrections significantly impact the short-time dynamics of three-body Rydberg atom formation. The improved rate coefficients yield quantitative agreement with recent ultracold plasma experiments. © 2008 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.223201
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.223201
PACS:
34.80.Dp, 34.80.Lx, 52.20.−j
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