Development of a pure cryogenic positron plasma using a LINAC positron source

The development of a high density cryogenic pure positron plasma trap at the LLNL positron beam facility opens new possibilities for antihydrogen research. We discuss a planned measurement of the three-body collisional recombination rate in magnetized plasmas, a possible antihydrogen atomic beam experiment, and other applications of pure positron plasmas.     

Dynamics of positron scattering from lithium,sodium and potassium atoms in hot and dense plasmas

The dynamics of positron scattering from the ground state of lithium, sodium and potassium atoms in hot and dense plasmas has been investigated by applying a two-state approximation that includes elastic scattering and rearrangement scattering. The wave functions and energies of the target alkali atoms have been determined quite accurately within the framework of the ’method of model potential’. An inclusive study was made on the effects of plasma screening on the differential and total cross sections for elastic scattering and positronium formation in the ground state for the incident positron energy lying within 10 eV to 500 eV. For the unscreened case, our present results agree reasonably with the results of other calculations. It was found that the cross sections suffer considerable change due to the effects of the background plasma.     

Plasmon dispersion in dense,partially ionized plasmas

A hydrodynamic analysis is presented of the dispersion and damping of long wavelength plasma oscillations in a partially ionized plasma. It is shown that the ionization equilibrium leads to an additional damping mechanism which manifests itselg in a term proportional to the square of the wavenumber.     

Hydrogen Balmer-alpha broadening in dense plasmas

This work presents a theoretical analysis of experimental results for the hydrogen Balmer-alpha line in dense plasmas, with electron densities between 2x10(18) and 9x10(18) e/cm(3) A simulation of both electrons and ions is employed to produce reliable theoretical widths. These results are essentially in agreement with standard theory results and, for the most part, disagree with the experimental results. Consequently, either mechanisms not accounted for in the theoretical results (such as quadrupoles) are more important than previously thought at these densities, or else there is a problem in the experimental data (such as a possible reabsorption, which is not ruled out by the experimental data).     

Line intensity fluctuations from dense plasmas

The problem is considered of relating small “shot-to-shot” variations in spectral line intensity radiated by a given dense plasma, to the corresponding variations in electron density and temperature. For the specific example of hydrogen lines from a helium-hydrogen plasma, generated in a device such as an electromagnetically driven shock tube, a clear distinction is shown between intensity fluctuations due to density changes, and those due to temperature changes. Thereby, the possibility is indicated of reducing the scatter in experimental data on spectral line shapes by simple first-order corrections.     

Picosecond x-ray laser interferometry of dense plasmas

We present the first results from picosecond interferometry of dense laser-produced plasmas using a soft x-ray laser. The picosecond duration and short wavelength of the 14.7 nm Ni-like Pd laser mitigates effects associated with motion blurring and refraction through millimeter-scale plasmas. This enables direct measurement of the electron-density profile to within 10 microm of the target surface. A series of high-quality two-dimensional (2D) density measurements provide unambiguous characterization of the time evolution in a fast-evolving plasma suitable for validation of existing 1D and 2D hydrodynamic codes.     

Laser-cooled positron source

We examine, theoretically, the feasibility of producing a sample of cold (⩽4 K), high-density (≈10¹⁰/cm³) positrons in a Penning trap. We assume⁹Be⁺ ions are first loaded into the trap and laser-cooled to approximately 10 mK where they form a uniform density column centered on the trap axis. Positrons from a moderator are then injected into the trap along the direction of the magnetic field through an aperture in one endcap of the trap so that they intersect the⁹Be⁺ column. Positron/⁹Be⁺ Coulomb collisions extract axial energy from the positrons and prevent them from escaping back out the entrance aperture. Cooling provided by cyclotron radiation and sympathetic cooling with the laser-cooled⁹Be⁺ ions causes the positrons to eventually coalesce into a cold column along the trap axis. We present estimates of the efficiency for capture of the positrons and estimates of densities and temperatures of the resulting positron column. Positrons trapped in this way may be interesting as a source for antihydrogen production, as an example of a quantum plasma, and as a possible means to produce a bright beam of positrons by leaking them out along the axis of the trap. Contribution of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; not subject to US copyright.     

Dielectronic satellite spectra from dense laser-produced plasmas

The Lyman-α and adjacent dielectronic satellite lines have been observed in the spectra from laser-irradiated solid targets. In a carbon plasma from a planar target, the relative intensity of the $\text{2p}{}^2{}^3\text{P?1s2p}{}^3\text{P}$ satellite line of C(V) increases as a function of electron density in the range 8 × 10¹⁹ to 2 × 10²⁰ cm^?3. As analysis of a series of imploded microballoon experiments indicates that the $\text{2p}{}^2{}^3\text{P?1s2p}{}^3\text{P}$ and $\text{2s2p}{}^3\text{P?1s2s}{}^3\text{S}$ satellite radiation of Si(XIII) increases for electron densities 1 × 10²²?2 × 10²³ cm^?3. The satellite intensity distributions have been numerically simulated using a rate equation model. It is shown that the carbon and silicon satellite data may be interpreted in a consistent manner, and the extension to higher atomic numbers Z and higher electron densities is considered.     

Au等离子体M带5f-3d跃迁透射谱的理论模拟

基于细致组态(DCA)方法和跃迁系列群 (UTA) 模型,采用全相对论处理并结合量子亏损理论,计算了金Au激光等离子体的M带5f-3d跃迁的透射谱, 给出了金等离子体在不同电子温度和电子密度的时空电离态特性,平均电离度,离子丰度和离子内各能级的布居数,并模拟出Au等离子体的M 带5f-3d跃迁的细致谱线,其计算结果可对激光等离子体透射谱的电子温度和电子密度进行精密诊断.     

Thermodynamics of dense high-temperature plasmas: Semiclassical approach

The pseudopotential model of particle interaction of a semiclassical fully ionized plasma, taking into account both quantum effects at short distances and screening field effects at large distances is developed. Radial distribution functions are investigated and it is shown that a short-range order formation can occur in the system under discussion. Correlation energy of dense high-temperature plasma, existing in astrophysical objects is studied and comparison with other methods is performed.     

Statistical description of ionization potentials in dense plasmas

The Thomas-Fermi model is used to investigate the influence of the density on the energies of ions in high-density plasmas (?10²¹?10²⁶ cm^?3). This model can be used to explain the two dominant high-density effects — continuum lowering and pressure ionization — by simple energy considerations. The result shows that only the outermost electrons are affected and that the inner region of the ion is hardly influenced by the density.     

Energy eigenvalues of helium-like atoms in dense plasmas

Calculations based on a variational method with wavefunctions including the correlation of electrons are carried out to obtain the energy eigenvalues of the Schrödinger equation for helium-like atoms embedded in dense plasmas, using the Debye-Hückel approximation. Energy eigenvalues for the 1 ¹S, 2 ¹S and 2 ³S states are obtained as a function of Debye screening length.     

Ionization state and bound level populations in hot,dense plasmas

The ionization state and bound level populations in hot, dense plasmas are studied in the average atom approximation. Bound level energies are fixed self-consistently with the complete set of population numbers, using pre-existent Hartree-Fock calculations. We present a pressure- ionization scheme that gradually merges bound electrons into the continuum. To solve the nonlinear algebraic system of equations of the model, we have derived an efficient iterative algorithm. Results are shown for aluminum and iron.     

Ionization and recombination rates of dense carbon plasmas

Collisional rate coefficients of excited, hydrogen-like carbon ions are calculated for the dense, non-degenerate plasma state starting from a generalized kinetic equation. Many-body effects like screening, lowering of ionization energies, and quasiparticle energies are taken into account. The resulting density dependence of the impact ionization, recombination, excitation, and deexcitation coefficients is discussed.     

The advent of ab initio simulations of dense plasmas

We present the story of full three-dimensional ab initio simulation techniques of dense plasmas based on the Kohn–Sham realization of the density functional theory, starting from early attempts using the Car–Parrinello method to the most recent approaches based on density matrix. We recall the decisive role played by two experiments, one on the Nova laser and the other at a much smaller scale, with pulsed electrical discharges. We emphasize that the essential roles of the Physics of Non-Ideal Plasmas (PNP) and Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems (SCCS) conference series were most results, and simulation tools were presented and discussed under the benevolent presence of Vladimir Fortov.     

Demonstration of spectrally resolved x-ray scattering in dense plasmas

We present the first spectrally resolved x-ray scattering measurements from solid-density plasmas. The scattering spectra show the broadened Compton down-shifted feature allowing us to determine the electron temperature and density with high accuracy. In the low temperature limit, our data indicate that the ionization balance reflects the electrons in the conduction band consistent with calculations that include quantum mechanical corrections to the interaction potential.