Plasma Physics
The external-kink stability of a toroidal plasma surrounded by a rigid resistive wall is investigated. The well-known analysis of Haney & Freidberg is rigorously extended to allow for a wall that is sufficiently thick that the thin-shell…
Data-driven techniques developed in recent years for the discovery of equations describing complex physical phenomena open unique opportunities for plasma physics. These methods allow getting insights into the processes difficult for…
The design of commercially feasible magnetic confinement fusion reactors strongly relies on the reduced turbulent transport in the plasma edge during operation in the high confinement mode (H-mode). We present first global turbulence…
The interaction of an ultra-intense laser pulse with a near critical density target results in the formation of a plasma channel, a strong azimuthal magnetic field and moving vortices. An application of this is the generation of energetic…
We propose an all-optical, single-laser-pulse scheme for generating dense, relativistic, strongly-magnetized electron-positron pair plasma. The scheme involves the interaction of an extremely intense ($I \gtrsim \SI{e24}{\watt/\cm^2}$)…
We investigate the dynamics of plasma-based acceleration processes with collisionless particle dynamics and non negligible thermal effects. We aim at assessing the applicability of fluid-like models, obtained by suitable closure assumptions…
Toroidal Alfv\'en eigenmodes (TAEs) can transport fusion-born energetic particles out of the plasma volume, thereby decreasing plasma self-heating efficiency and possibly damaging reactor walls. Therefore, understanding TAE destabilisation…
Microtearing instability is one of the major sources of turbulent transport in high-$\beta$ tokamaks. These modes lead to very localized transport at low-order rational magnetic field lines, and we show that flattening of the local electron…
Self-interaction is the process by which a microturbulence eigenmode that is extended along the direction parallel to the magnetic field interacts with itself non-linearly. This effect is particularly significant in gyrokinetic simulations…
The extreme heat fluxes in the divertor region of tokamaks may require an alternative to solid plasma-facing components, for the extraction of heat and the protection of the surrounding walls. Flowing liquid metals are proposed as an…
This research explores the application of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) to optimize the design of a nuclear fusion reactor. DRL can efficiently address the challenging issues attributed to multiple physics and engineering constraints…
Electromagnetic microtearing modes (MTMs) have been observed in many different spherical tokamak regimes. Understanding how these and other electromagnetic modes nonlinearly saturate is likely critical in understanding the confinement of a…
Two-plasmon decay instability emerges as the parametric decay of laser beams into two plasma waves which is expected for hohlraum in inertial confinement fusion. The behavior of this instability in magnetized plasma is investigated in the…
Diffusion coefficients for crystallized Coulomb plasmas are essential microphysics input for modeling white dwarf cores and neutron star crusts but are poorly understood. In this work we present a model for diffusion in Coulomb crystals. We…
Simulation results are presented to demonstrate electron temperature and electrical potential development in dilute and cold plasma development. The simulation method is a hybrid method which adopted fluid model for electrons due to their…
Low-temperature plasmas are partially ionized gases, where ions and neutrals coexist in a highly reactive environment. This creates a rich chemistry, which is often difficult to understand in its full complexity. In this work, we develop a…
This paper reports on the use of coherent microwave scattering (CMS) for spatially resolved electron number density measurements of elongated plasma structures induced at mid-IR femtosecond filamentation in air. The presented studies…
This paper studies the nonlinear evolution of magnetic field turbulence in proximity of steady ideal MHD configurations characterized by a small electric current, a small plasma flow, and approximate flux surfaces, a physical setting that…
The mechanisms by which media inhomogeneity affects the three wave parametric instability (PI), including the wave number mismatch and the parameter gradients, are investigated using an approach based on the…
Simulating gas flow within the divertor, which is a crucial component in nuclear fusion reactors, is essential for assessing and enhancing its design and performance. Traditional methods, such as the direct simulation Monte Carlo and the…