Related papers: Simulating a pulsed power-driven plasma with ideal…
The limitations of Hall MHD as a model for turbulence in weakly collisional plasmas are explored using quantitative comparisons to Vlasov-Maxwell kinetic theory over a wide range of parameter space. The validity of Hall MHD in the cold ion…
In the evolving realm of space exploration, efficient propulsion methods are paramount to achieve interplanetary and possibly interstellar voyages. Traditional propulsion systems, although proven, offer limited capabilities when considering…
The plasma edge flow, situated at the intricate boundary between plasma and neutral particles, plays a pivotal role in the design of nuclear fusion devices such as divertors and pumps. Traditional numerical simulation methods, such as the…
A model of an electron-beam-plasma system is introduced to model the electrical breakdown physics of low-pressure nitrogen irradiated by an intense pulsed electron beam. The rapidly rising beam current induces an electric field which drives…
High-intensity laser plasma interactions create complex computational problems because they involve both fluid and kinetic regimes, which need models that maintain physical precision while keeping computational speed. The research…
Computer aided engineering of multi-time-scale plasma systems which exhibit a quasi-steady state solution are challenging due to the large number of time steps required to reach convergence. Machine learning techniques combined with…
Kinetic simulations of collisionless (or weakly collisional) plasmas using the Vlasov equation are often infeasible due to high resolution requirements and the exponential scaling of computational cost with respect to dimension. Recently,…
We report on the first detailed analysis of large three dimensional (3D) complex plasma structures in experiments performed in pure rf and combined rf+dc discharge modes. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is generated by an rf coil wrapped…
Strongly coupled plasmas in which the interaction energy exceeds the kinetic energy play an important role in many astrophysical and laboratory systems including compact stars, laser plasmas and dusty plasmas. They exhibit many unusual…
The emission of multi-MeV ($\gamma$-ray) photons from the interaction of a high-powered laser pulse with a dense plasma target is studied using particle-in-cell simulations. A new set of diagnostic techniques is presented and applied to…
Magnetic fields are believed to play an essential role in astrophysical jets with observations suggesting the presence of helical magnetic fields. Here, we present three-dimensional (3D) ideal MHD simulationsof the Caltech plasma jet…
Magnetic flux tubes in the presence of background rotational flows are abundant throughout the solar atmosphere and may act as conduits for MHD waves to transport energy throughout the solar atmosphere. Here we investigate the contribution…
We present experimental results of vacuum laser acceleration (VLA) of electrons using radially polarized laser pulses interacting with a plasma mirror. Tightly focused radially polarized laser pulses have been proposed for electron…
An up to 15 T pulsed magnetic field generator in a volume of a few cubic centimeters has been created for experiments with magnetized laser plasma. The magnetic field is created by a pair of coils placed in a sealed reservoir with liquid…
We study the free boundary problem for a plasma-vacuum interface in ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Unlike the classical statement when the vacuum magnetic field obeys the div-curl system of pre-Maxwell dynamics, to better…
Calculations of the heat flux carried by plasma to the wall of a magnetic fusion machine often assume that power flows only along the field lines, but this cannot be true in general. Instead, we treat the plasma as an anisotropic non-linear…
We investigate properties of plasma turbulence from magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) to sub-ion scales by means of two-dimensional, high-resolution hybrid particle-in-cell simulations. We impose an initial ambient magnetic field, perpendicular to…
A near-hollow plasma channel, where the plasma density in the channel is much less than the plasma density in the walls, is proposed to provide independent control over the focusing and accelerating forces in a plasma accelerator. In this…
We present the results of three-dimensional (3D) ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations on the dynamics of a perpendicularly inhomogeneous plasma disturbed by propagating Alfv\'enic waves. Simpler versions of this scenario have been…
Phase mixing of a three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pulse is studied in the compressive, three-dimensional (without an ignorable coordinate) regime. It is shown that the efficiency of decay of an Alfvenic part of a compressible…