Interaction of picosecond laser pulses with a thin target

Interaction between a picosecond laser pulse of nonrelativistic intensity with a thin target is studied in terms of the kinetic theory of laser plasma, which is based on constructing propagators for the plasma particle distribution functions. Allowance is made for both the self-consistent plasma field and plasma particle correlations (collisions). The interaction causes charge separation in the target and strong heating of electrons.     

Electron Temperatures and Electron Densities in Microwave Helium Discharges with Pressures Higher than 0.1 MPa

We adopted laser Thomson scattering for measuring the electron density and the electron temperature of microwave plasmas produced in helium at the pressures higher than the atmospheric pressure. The electron density decreased while we observed the increase in the electron temperature with the pressure. These are reasonable results by considering the decrease in the reduced electric field, the dominant loss of electrons via three‐body recombination with helium as the third body, and the production of electrons with medium energy via heavy particle collisions at the high gas pressure. The temporal variation of the electron temperature had the rise and the fall time constants of approximately 10 ns. The rapid heating and cooling of the electron temperature are due to the fast energy transfer from electrons to helium because of the high collision frequency in the high‐pressure discharge. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Response of the Electron Kinetics on Spatial Disturbances of the Electric Field in Nonisothermal Plasmas

An efficient method for solving the inhomogeneous electron Boltzmann equation for a weakly ionized collision dominated plasma is represented. As a first application this method is used to investigate in a helium plasma the response of the electron velocity distribution function and of the relevant macroscopic quantities to the impact of spatially limited disturbances in the electric field. In addition to the field action elastic and (conservative) inelastic collisions of electrons with gas atoms are taken into account in the kinetic treatment. In this way the spatial relaxation behaviour of the electrons and their establishment into homogeneous plasma states could be studied on a strict kinetic basis. Unexpectedly large relaxation lengths in electron acceleration direction have been found at medium electric fields.     

电子回旋共振放电的电离特性PIC/MCC模拟(Ⅱ)——数值模拟与结果讨论

采用粒子模拟与蒙特卡罗相结合(PIC/MCC)的方法，应用电磁模型，编写了准三维的电子回旋共振(ECR)放电电离过程的模拟程序，得到了ECR放电过程中电子与离子的相空间分布、电磁场分布.通过对这些分布随时间演化的分析，得出ECR加热发生在ω≈ω_c0且垂直于轴向的区域；ECR区域，微波能量几乎全部耦合给电子，获得能量的电子通过与中性粒子的电离碰撞产生了大量的带电粒子；随着放电的进行，大量带电粒子通过频繁的碰撞，分布由各向异性逐渐趋于各向同性. 关键词： 电子回旋共振放电 粒子模拟 蒙特卡罗 电离     

Eine quantitative Deutung der Elektronengruppen im elektronenstrahlerzeugten He-Niederdruckplasma mit Hilfe der Boltzmannschen Stoßgleichung

Neglecting electron-electron collisions the velocity distribution of plasma electrons in a beam generated He-low pressure plasma is evaluated with help of Boltzmann equation. The energy distribution of secondary electrons generated by the electron beam is considered applying the atom collision theory ofGryzinski. The resulting velocity distribution of plasma electrons shows group character. The “temperatures” of the ultimate and secondary electrons and their density ratio are in satisfying agreement with experiment.     

Stoßbestimmte Relaxation des Elektronenensembles im Plasma bei zusätzlicher Aufheizung durch ein elektrisches Feld. III. Das periodische Verhalten der Elektronenkomponente im elektrischen Feld großen Modulationsgrades

Collision Dominated Relaxation of the Electron Ensemble in a Plasma with Additional Heating by an Electric Field. III. The Periodic Behaviour of the Electron Component in an Electric Field with a Large Modulation Amplitude With the aid of the non-stationary Boltzmann-equation the periodic behaviour of the isotropic part of the velocity distribution of electrons and thereby determined macroscopic quantities is calculated for periodic electric fields with large modulation amplitude. The investigations concern a weakly ionized column plasma in neon under typical low and medium pressure conditions. Based on the numerical results for typical ranges of field strength and cycle times of the electric field a qualitative physical interpretation for the periodic behaviour of the electron component is obtained. The introduction of special field-dependent adjustment times allows the formalution of conditions which characterize the case of quasi-stationary behaviour and also the case of small amplitudes of modulation in the macroscopic quantities determined by the isotropic distribution function. The periodic states between these two limiting cases can be interpreted as due to two competing processes. The first one is the energy input controlled by the electric field and the second one is the energy loss in binary collisions of the electrons with the atoms.     

Magnetfeldabhängige Mikrowellen-Absorption und -Dispersion zur Bestimmung von Stoßfrequenz und Stoßmodell bei Flammenplasmen

At atmospheric pressure acetylene-oxygen and acetylene-air flames were burning through anX-band waveguide resonator parallel to the microwave electric field vector and perpendicular to an external magnetic field in the Voigt-geometry commonly used to study electron cyclotron resonance. However, because the electron collision frequency is greater than the angular microwave frequency, absorption and dispersion are merely slowly decreasing functions of the magnetic field strength. They depend—besides on collision frequency—on the nature of the electron collisions. Both, absorption and dispersion were evaluated independently for different classical collision models. Taking into account the tensor-property of conductivity, closest agreement of the two results for the collision frequency and best coincidence of measurement and theory was obtained for the model of an electron-polarizable molecule collision, which corresponds to a collision frequency independent of electron velocity. The collision frequency amounts to 210±4 GHz for our acetylene-oxygen-flames and 249 ± 4 GHz for the acetylene-air-flames.     

Group velocity control of femtosecond pulse in folded dielectric axes structures by electro-optic effect

Theoretical investigation on the group velocity control of ultra-fast pulses by transverse electro-optic effect as well as its cascading and cubic nonlinearity is presented. Numerical simulation shows that the group velocity can be tuned via conveniently modulating the external electric field strength or the intensity of input pulse. The response of group velocity modulation is in proportion to these two factors, and the advancement or delay can reach the magnitude of 1–2 fractional pulses, which could be a potential scheme for controlling the velocity of pulse in future high speed and large-capacity communication networks.     

Numerical investigation of the plasma processes for propellant heating in electrothermal plasma thruster for nanosatellites

Numerical investigation of the plasma processes in a cylindrical chamber with small dimensions of a novel microwave electrothermal plasma thruster for nanosatellites has been conducted. The absorbed microwave power from the electrons in the plasma column of the surface wave discharge is included in the computational model as a heat source with Gaussian distribution. The computational model takes into account the elastic and inelastic collisions of the electrons with the atoms in the ground state and two excited states (−s, −p) and the processes of recombination and deactivation of the plasma species in the volume and on the walls of the chamber. The computational model includes the flow of neutral gas and the processes in the plasma for effective heating of neutral particles by collisions not only with electrons but also with ions. Selected combinations of input power and propellant mass flow rates are used as initial parameters for the numerical investigation. The results show that at higher mass flow rates the heating of the neutral gas is more effective and at power levels of 4 W and propellant mass flow rate of 3 mg/s the electrothermal plasma thruster demonstrates effective performance and thrust levels in the order of 1 mN.     

Deceleration and acceleration of fast electrons in a dense gas in an electric field

The propagation of electrons in a gas at energies higher than the excitation energy of the K shell of the gas atoms is simulated numerically. Calculations show that, without a field, the penetration depth of the electrons into a gas heavier than nitrogen is limited primarily by their elastic collisions with atomic nuclei. For electrons moving in an electric field, the effect of elastic collisions is that there is no definite electric field strength above which an electron with a given energy will be continuously accelerated. Even in an electric field much stronger than the critical one, only a fraction of electrons are accelerated. The remaining electrons turn back due to elastic collisions and lose their energy in deceleration by the field. In this case, the propagation velocity of the centroid of the electrons tends to a constant value.     

Mutual projectile-target ionization via the two-center dielectronic interaction in relativistic ion-atom collisions

We study mutual ionization in relativistic collisions between hydrogenlike projectiles and helium atoms: X(Z+)(1s)+He(1s(2))-->X((Z+1)+)+ He+(1s)+2e(-). At high collision velocities and for not too heavy projectiles, 2Z/v<1 (v is the collision velocity), the mutual ionization proceeds via the direct interaction between two electrons bound (initially) to different colliding particles. Considering for the first time this fundamental process in the case of relativistic collisions, we calculate ionization cross sections and discuss manifestations of relativistic effects. In particular, we predict two novel and interesting phenomena: (i) considerable relativistic effects in collisions with low Lorentz factors gamma and (ii) the rapid saturation of these effects at higher gamma. Estimates show that the predicted effects can be experimentally tested using existing facilities and spectrometers.     

Beat Heating of Collisional and Magnetised Plasma

The heating of a plasma by stimulating plasma electrons as well as plasma ions with two anti-parallel electromagnetic waves under the influence of a uniform static magnetic field is studied using Maxwell's equations and equations of motion. A formula for the power absorption per unit volume of the plasma is derived and effects of collisions and magnitude and orientation of the magnetic field on the beat heating are examined numerically. It is observed that the average power absorption in the absence of ion-neutral collisions in the plasma barely exceeds unity in the units of pure Langmuir mode excitation where as in the presence of ion-neutral collisions the power absorption immediately shoots up to a very high value.     

Kinetic parameters,collision rates,energy exchanges and transport coefficients of non-thermal electrons in premixed flames at sub-breakdown electric field strengths

The effects of an electric field on the collision rates, energy exchanges and transport properties of electrons in premixed flames are investigated via solutions to the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The case of high electric field strength, which results in high-energy, non-thermal electrons, is analysed in detail at sub-breakdown conditions. The rates of inelastic collisions and the energy exchange between electrons and neutrals in the reaction zone of the flame are characterised quantitatively. The analysis includes attachment, ionisation, impact dissociation, and vibrational and electronic excitation processes. Our results suggest that Townsend breakdown occurs for E/N = 140 Td. Vibrational excitation is the dominant process up to breakdown, despite important rates of electronic excitation of CO, CO₂ and N₂ as well as impact dissociation of O₂ being apparent from 50 Td onwards. Ohmic heating in the reaction zone is found to be negligible (less than 2% of peak heat release rate) up to breakdown field strengths for realistic electron densities equal to 10¹⁰ cm^?3. The observed trends are largely independent of equivalence ratio. In the non-thermal regime, electron transport coefficients are insensitive to mixture composition and approximately constant across the flame, but are highly dependent on the electric field strength. In the thermal limit, kinetic parameters and transport coefficients vary substantially across the flame due to the spatially inhomogeneous concentration of water vapour. A practical approach for identifying the plasma regime (thermal versus non-thermal) in studies of electric field effects on flames is proposed.     

Simulation of the time of transit of a discharge gap by a background electron multiplication wave

Two-dimensional simulation of plasma spread via multiplication of low-density background electrons is performed. It is shown that the velocity of the wave grows as it approaches the opposite electrode. The time taken for the multiplication wave to cross the helium-, nitrogen-, or xenon-filled gap between the capacitor plates is calculated as a function of the field strength. As follows from estimates, the recently found fact that the beam current in gas media peaks earlier than in a vacuum may be explained by a rapid travel of the electron multiplication wave through the background ionized by the precursor pulse.     

激光脉冲和电子束对撞准确度的测量方法

超强激光脉冲与相对论电子束相互对撞是当前主要的强场量子电动力学（QED）实验手段。如何测量超强激光脉冲和电子束对撞的准确度,进而实现微米精度的准确对撞,是目前限制实验发展的重要因素。利用蒙特卡罗数值模拟方法,系统研究了超强激光脉冲和相对论电子束相互对撞过程,重点关注了电子和辐射光子动力学信息与激光脉冲和电子束对撞偏移量之间的对应关系。研究发现:辐射光子的空间分布信息,可以有效反映出激光脉冲和电子束的对撞偏移量。基于该研究结果,实验中可利用光子空间分布的信息,实现对激光脉冲和电子束对撞准确度的调节,从而有望促进强场QED实验技术的发展。     

Electron-ion collision integral in a strong magnetic field

Boltzmann’s collision integral is extended to the case of helical (Larmor) particle trajectories in a magnetic field of arbitrary strength. The main characteristics of collisions of electrons with positively charged ions in strong magnetic fields, where the Larmor radius of electrons becomes less than the characteristic impact parameter of close collisions in the absence of a magnetic field (Landau’s parameter), are investigated. The differential scattering cross section and the corresponding electron-ion collision integral in strong fields are found. The transport collision frequencies are calculated, and the results are compared with the similar quantities for weaker magnetic fields.     

Inductance of rf-wave-heated plasmas

The inductance of rf-wave-heated plasmas is derived. This inductance represents the inductance of fast electrons located in a plateau during their acceleration due to electric field or deceleration due to collisions and electric field. This inductance has been calculated for small electric fields from the two-dimensional Fokker-Planck equation as the flux crossing the surface of critical energy mv(2)(ph)/2 in the velocity space. The new expression may be important for radio-frequency current drive ramp-up, current drive efficiency, current profile control, and so on in tokamaks. This inductance may be incorporated into transport codes that study plasma heating by rf waves.     

Anomalous capacitive sheath with deep radio-frequency electric-field penetration

A novel nonlinear effect of anomalously deep penetration of an external radio-frequency electric field into a plasma is described. A self-consistent kinetic treatment reveals a transition region between the sheath and the plasma. Because of the electron velocity modulation in the sheath, bunches in the energetic electron density are formed in the transition region adjacent to the sheath. The width of the region is of order V(T)/omega, where V(T) is the electron thermal velocity, and omega is the frequency of the electric field. The presence of the electric field in the transition region results in a collisionless cooling of the energetic electrons and an additional heating of the cold electrons.     

Concept of multipole magnetic field rotation in ECRIS

The conventional type of magnetic well is formed by superposition of two types of magnetic field, axial bumpy field and radial multipole field. It is used to contain plasma that consists of neutrals, ions and electrons. These particles are in constant motion in the well and energetic electrons create plasma by violent collisions with neutrals and ions. The confined electrons are constantly heated by ECR technique in the presence of magnetic field. In this paper it has been shown theoretically that how the electron motion is influenced in terms of heating, containment and azimuthal uniformity of plasma, by the axial rotation of the multipole magnetic field [1,2]. Afterwards, the feasibility of achieving a rotating magnetic multipole field is discussed to some extent. And it is seen that it is not beyond the capability of the scientific community in the present scenario of the advanced technology. Presently, it can be achieved for lesser field and slightly larger size of the multipole electromagnet and can be used for improvement of the ECR ion source (ECRIS).