| Here we describe two experiments on dielectronic recombination in Ba atoms. Dielectronic recombination, a recombination of an ion and an electron via a doubly-excited autoionizing state, is the dominant recombination path for the energetic electrons found in a high-temperature laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. The experimental approach used here enables us to study dielectronic recombination with exceptionally high energy resolution and low stray fields, compared to conventional electron- and ion-beam measurements. In the first experiment we study dielectronic recombination in crossed electric and magnetic fields—which corresponds to a standard arrangement in a crossed-beam experiment. In the second experiment we study dielectronic recombination in linearly and circularly polarized microwave fields, hoping to mimic the real-life dielectronic recombination in a plasma, where high-frequency electric fields are created by collisions with fast-moving electrons. |
