Suppression of Penning ionization by spin polarization of cold $He (2^{3} S)$ atoms

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13 April 2000

journal article
research article
Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review A

Vol. 61 (5) , 050702
https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.61.050702

Abstract

We measure the suppression of Penning ionization in an ultracold

He (2^{3} S_{1})

atomic cloud after spin-polarizing the atoms by optical pumping in a small magnetic field. An upper limit of

6 \times 10^{- 12} {cm}^{3} / s

for the ionization rate constant is deduced, at least a factor 20 lower than measured in an unpolarized gas.

Keywords

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