UC Berkeley

Generating cold single component electron plasmas, below 20K, is of interest to many experiments that require low temperatures for optimizing recombination rates or producing monoenergetic beams. Here, we report on the demonstration of a technique that allows for rapid cooling of a single-component electron plasma confined in a Penning trap. Electrons are confined in an electromagnetic cavity, allowing use of the Purcell effect to enhance spontaneous emission of cyclotron radiation in the cavity. This allows for faster passive thermalization of the confined plasma to the temperature of electrodes that constitute the cavity.