Metastable laser plasma

The calculations of the multiparticle dynamics that stimulate the important stages of relaxation of an ultracold laser plasma (N_e ~2×10⁹ cm^-3, T_e ~0.1 K, T_i ~10 μK) are presented. The initial electron heating, the formation of highly excited electrons, and the confinement of electrons in a small plasma bunch are considered. Based on a previously developed analytical recombination theory of a metastable plasma, it is shown that the limiting moderation of the three-body recombination may amount to 3–4 orders of magnitude.