On the relativistic cold fluid radial equilibrium of a nonneutral plasma

It is shown that relativistic effects strongly modify the equilibrium of nonneutral plasmas even if the linear velocity of plasma rotation in crossed electric and magnetic fields is small as compared to the speed of light. The change is especially pronounced for the fast rigid-rotor equilibrium, when the frequency of the azimuthal rotation is close to the cyclotron frequency, and the radial density profile becomes approximately parabolic rather than stepwise as predicted by the non-relativistic theory. It is argued that such effects could be detected in experiments similar to those performed by Theiss et al. [A.J. Theiss, R.A. Mahaffey, A.W. Trivelpiece, Phys. Rev. Lett. 35 (1975) 1436]. The relativistic modification of the Brillouin density limit is also addressed.     

Generation of relativistic intensity pulses at a kilohertz repetition rate

By using adaptive optics to correct the wave-front distortion of a 21-fs, 0.7-mJ, 1-kHz laser, we are able to focus the pulses to a 1-mum spot with an f/1 off-axis parabolic mirror. The peak intensity at the focal position is 1.5x10(18) W/cm(2) , which is to the authors' knowledge the first demonstration of generating relativistic intensity at a kilohertz repetition rate.     

Characteristics of He-nucleus interactions at relativistic energy

From the peripheral collisions of²⁸Si projectile at 14.5 A GeV in nuclear emulsion, emerged⁴He nuclei among the projectile fragments, are followed for their interactions. Multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of the produced particles emanating from 366 inelastic⁴He induced emulsion reactions are compared with those of²⁸Si at 14.5A GeV,⁴He at 140A GeV and proton at 800 GeV beams. Standard deviation of the Gaussian fittings to the pseudorapidity distributions for different values of average shower particle multiplicities represents an approximate measure of the impact parameter. Second moments of the multiplicity distributions of the shower tracks can be parameterized in terms of a universal polynomial dependence. Results agree quite well with the predictions of the multistring model VENUS.     

Studying the energy dependence of elliptic and directed flow within a relativistic transport approach

The energy excitation functions of directed flow (v₁) and elliptic flow (v₂) from E_beam=90 A MeV to E_cm=200 A GeV are explored within the UrQMD framework and discussed in the context of the available data. The radial and the elliptic flow of the particles produced in a relativistic heavy-ion collision are intimately connected to the pressure and its gradients in the early stage of the reaction. Therefore, these observables should also be sensitive to changes in the equation of state. To prove this connection, the temporal evolution of the pressure, pressure gradients and elliptic flow are shown. For the flow excitation functions it is found that, in the energy regime below E_beam≤10 A GeV, the inclusion of nuclear potentials is necessary to describe the data. Above 40 A GeV beam energy, the UrQMD model starts to underestimate the elliptic flow. Around the same energy the slope of the rapidity spectra of the proton directed flow develops negative values. This effect is known as the third flow component (“antiflow”) and cannot be reproduced by the transport model. The difference between the data and the UrQMD model can possibly be explained by assuming a phase transition from hadron gas to quark–gluon plasma around E_lab=40 A GeV. This would be consistent with the model calculations, indicating a transition from hadronic matter to “string matter” in this energy range. Thus, we speculate that the missing pressure might be generated by strong interactions in the early pre-hadronic/partonic phase of central Au + Au (Pb + Pb) collisions already at lower SPS energies. PACS 25.75.-q; 25.75.Ld; 25.75.Dw; 25.75.Gz; 24.10.Lx     

Kinetic theory of the plasma-dynamical modes and the transport coefficients of a relativistic plasma

The kinetic equation of an inhomogeneous relativistic plasma, consisting of an electron gas and a radiation field, is studied with particular regard to its eigenvalues in the hydrodynamical limit. The treatment is classical for the particles and quantum-mechanical for the field oscillators.After a suitable regularization, the eigenvalues are obtained by a perturbation theory through second order in the strength of the gradients. It is shown that these eigenvalues are in exact correspondence with the macroscopic relativistic plasma-dynamical modes. The important role played by the Vlassov operator in building up the peculiar structure of these modes is underlined. From a comparison of the macroscopic and microscopic eigenvalues we obtain general expressions for the thermal conductivity, the shear viscosity and the bulk viscosity of a relativistic plasma. The contribution of the radiation field to these quantities is a noteworthy feature of these expressions.     

Optical diffraction tomography microscopy with transport of intensity equation using a light-emitting diode array

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is an effective label-free technique for quantitatively refractive index imaging, which enables long-term monitoring of the internal three-dimensional (3D) structures and molecular composition of biological cells with minimal perturbation. However, existing optical tomographic methods generally rely on interferometric configuration for phase measurement and sophisticated mechanical systems for sample rotation or beam scanning. Thereby, the measurement is suspect to phase error coming from the coherent speckle, environmental vibrations, and mechanical error during data acquisition process. To overcome these limitations, we present a new ODT technique based on non-interferometric phase retrieval and programmable illumination emitting from a light-emitting diode (LED) array. The experimental system is built based on a traditional bright field microscope, with the light source replaced by a programmable LED array, which provides angle-variable quasi-monochromatic illumination with an angular coverage of ±37 degrees in both x and y directions (corresponding to an illumination numerical aperture of ∼0.6). Transport of intensity equation (TIE) is utilized to recover the phase at different illumination angles, and the refractive index distribution is reconstructed based on the ODT framework under first Rytov approximation. The missing-cone problem in ODT is addressed by using the iterative non-negative constraint algorithm, and the misalignment of the LED array is further numerically corrected to improve the accuracy of refractive index quantification. Experiments on polystyrene beads and thick biological specimens show that the proposed approach allows accurate refractive index reconstruction while greatly reduced the system complexity and environmental sensitivity compared to conventional interferometric ODT approaches.     

Femtosecond Fourier interferometry of a nonideal plasma

Experimental diagnostic methods based on the measurement of the reflectance of a plasma are considered. The application of Fourier interferometry for measuring the dynamics of variation of the amplitude and phase of the complex reflectance of the Au plasma for various delay times in intervals shorter than 1 ps relative to the pumping laser pulse with a femtosecond time resolution is described in detail in the intensity range ∼10¹³–10¹⁴ W/cm². The variation of the complex refractive index of the heated Au target for a pump pulse intensity of ∼10¹²–10¹³ W/cm² is analyzed on the basis of experimental data using the Fresnel formulas.     

Magnetic properties of a relativistic plasma

On the basis of thermodynamic functions calculated in closed form, the magnetic properties of an equilibrium relativistic plasma in fields of arbitrary magnitude are studied in both the Boltzmann and quantum cases. It is shown that, for a relativistic degenerate gas of free electrons, the de Haas-van Alphen effect will remain.     

Kinetic theory of a relativistic plasma

The BBGKY hierarchy of equations for a system of relativistic charged particles is derived. The electromagnetic field is included in the dynamical system by decomposing the transverse part of the field of each particle into oscillators. Self-consistent field equations are obtained for the relativistic plasma, and an expression is also obtained for the correlation function which leads to the Belyaev-Budker collision integral.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 78–82, March, 1981.     

Friedel oscillations in a relativistic quantum plasma

The linear responce of a two-component plasma to a static test charge is analyzed at large distances from the impurity. The electrons are considered relativistic and degenerate and the ions classical and non-relativistic. The results show that the electrons give the principal contribution to the response, which is long ranged and characterized by the Friedel oscillatory behavior.     

Solitons in a magnetized relativistic electron-positron plasma

Nonlinear equations for the interaction of the Langmuir wave field and the transverse electromagnetic field in the pulsar magnetosphere are derived. These equations take into account the modulational instability of plasma waves and its decay into two transversal waves.     

Fluorescence excited in a thunderstorm atmosphere by relativistic runaway electron avalanches

The spectrum and spatiotemporal evolution of the fluorescence of an atmospheric discharge developing in the regime of relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RREA) generation have been calculated without involving the relativistic feedback. The discharges generating narrow bipolar pulses, along with the discharges responsible for terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, are shown to be relatively dark. Nevertheless, the fluorescence excited by a discharge involving RREAs can be recorded with cameras used to record high-altitude optical phenomena. A possible connection between a certain class of optical phenomena observed at the tops of thunderclouds and RREA emission is pointed out.