Plasma Physics
Bright ultrashort X-ray pulses allow scientists to observe ultrafast motion of atoms and molecules. Coherent light sources, such as the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL), enable remarkable discoveries in cell biology, protein…
The interaction of intense laser pulses with plasma mirrors has demonstrated the ability to generate high-order harmonics, producing a bright source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation and attosecond pulses. Here, we report an unexpected…
We investigate analytically and numerically the interaction of strong electromagnetic waves with unmagnetized pair plasmas. We show that the interaction is governed by a single nonlinearity parameter, $\varepsilon_{\rm p}$, defined as the…
The divertor in a magnetic confinement fusion reactor is an essential component for power dissipation and particle removal. The FIREFLY package for rapid evaluation of divertor designs is presented as an extension of the FLARE code for…
Fusion plasmas are highly sensitive to external magnetic perturbations which result in complex responses near a region known as the resonant layer. Past analytic descriptions of this phenomena used boundary layer theory in a simplified…
In this work, we investigate the landscape of quasi-isodynamic stellarators using the near-axis expansion of the magnetic field. Building on recent theoretical developments, we construct a database of more than 800,000 stable, approximately…
We develop a self-consistent analytical two-fluid framework for plasma evolution in the short-time regime, elucidating the fundamental mechanism underlying the coupled generation of flow and magnetic fields. We show that consistency between…
While magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) remain the primary routes toward controlled fusion, progress is still constrained by energy loss, plasma instabilities, and the cost and complexity of large-scale…
In three dimensional toroidal domains without symmetry, the standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium model used for magnetic confinement fusion does not generally support smooth solutions. Instead, solutions have singular plasma…
The Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) poses a major challenge in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) due to its role in mixing and performance degradation. We report the first experimental observation of passive freeze-out of RMI in a…
Characterizing compressible fluctuations in the solar wind is essential for understanding their role in solar wind acceleration and heating, yet their origin and evolution across different turbulence regimes remain poorly understood. In…
Commercial fusion energy requires frameworks to assess both the scientific and economic viability of a wide variety of fusion concepts. Inspired by the Lawson criterion's ability to universally describe fusion energy gain, a generalized…
In this study, we report a physical model and a Monte Carlo simulation scheme developed to predict the angular distributions of energetic argon atoms and ions as an ion beam passes through a gas-filled volume. The study explores…
Optimizing laser and plasma parameters is crucial for enhancing accelerated proton energy in laser-driven proton acceleration with finite laser energy for applications such as cancer therapy. Tight focusing plays a significant role in…
The classical one-component plasma (OCP) bounded by a spherical surface reflecting ions (BOCP) is studied using molecular dynamics (MD). Simulations performed for a series of sufficiently large BOCP's make it possible to establish the size…
A three-dimensional model of a novel plasma based electrically small antenna is developed for investigating the gas properties and antenna parameters under a low pressure, low plasma temperature environment. The antenna exhibits dipole…
This work presents a tunable varactor with tunability in the range of 100s of MHz and a capacitance delta of about 36 pF by employing a perpendicular magnetic field to a capacitively-coupled (CCP) RF plasma cell. A comprehensive…
Nonadiabatic removal of an external transverse magnetic field provides a phase-selective mechanism for controlling betatron oscillations in laser wakefield accelerators. When the field is switched off on a timescale shorter than the…
Active matter classifies systems consisting of self-propelled units which convert the energy stored locally or extracted from their environment into directed motion. It has recently attracted considerable attention due to rich new physics…
Suprathermal fusion reactions, initiated by energetic particles slowing down and scattering in dense plasmas, can modify the burn dynamics at inertial confinement fusion (ICF) regimes. A 0D time-dependent Monte-Carlo code has been developed…