Pulsed field recombination

The pulsed-field recombination scheme is used to recombine free electrons with Li⁺ ions to produce neutral Li atoms in a high Rydberg state (n~180). The experimental conditions are similar to the conditions under which antiprotons and positrons are recombined to produce cold antihydrogen. In the current experiments we have trapped electrons in a Penning trap (B~35 mT). Subsequently these electrons were recombined with spatially separated Li⁺ ions. The recorded efficiency is 2.0% versus 0.3% in previous experiments with atomic ions. Several experiments and simulations were performed to study the dynamics of pulsed-field recombination in more detail.