title: Bragg diffraction from crystallized ion plasmas
abstract: 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 (9Be+) 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.
authors.affiliation: Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Itano
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bollinger
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jelenkovic
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wineland