Efficient excitation of Rydberg states in ultracold lithium-7 atoms

This work is aimed at preparing highly excited optically cooled lithium-7 atoms for producing a strongly nonideal plasma and Rydberg matter. A setup implementing a novel nondestructive technique for preparation and diagnostics of highly excited Rydberg atomic states is constructed. The operation of this setup is based on the usage of a cw high-power ultraviolet laser combined with a magneto-optical trap. The diagnostics of highly excited states is performed by the direct recording of the variations in the fluorescence of ultracold lithium-7 atoms in the magneto-optical trap.