Abstract
We present a new method for measuring absolute total electron-impact ionization cross sections. The technique measures fractional loss rates from a magneto-optical trap due to electron-impact ionization. The method requires only relative measurements of the number of target atoms and therefore eliminates a major source of difficulty in previous experiments. We report total ionization cross sections of Rb for electron energies from 50 to 500 eV.
- Received 12 February 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.4328
©1996 American Physical Society