Nanopowder production by gas-embedded electrical explosion of wire

A small electrical explosion of wire (EEW) setup for nanopowder production is constructed. It consists of a low inductance capacitor bank of 2 μF-4 μF typically charged to 8 kV-30 kV, a triggered gas switch, and a production chamber housing the exploding wire load and ambient gas. With the EEW device, nanosize powders of titanium oxides, titanium nitrides, copper oxides, and zinc oxides are successfully synthesized. The average particle size of synthesized powders under different experimental conditions is in a range of 20nm-80nm. The pressure of ambient gas or wire vapor can strongly affect the average particle size. The lower the pressure, the smaller the particle size is. For wire material with relatively high resistivity, such as titanium, whose deposited energy Wd is often less than sublimation energy W s due to the flashover breakdown along the wire prematurely ending the Joule heating process, the synthesized particle size of titanium oxides or titanium nitrides increases with overheat coefficient k (k = W d /Ws ) increasing.     

Observations of light back-scattered from a laser-produced plasma

The back scattered light from a laser-produced plasma has been investigated. The laser consisted of a ruby oscillator and one amplifier producing a 10-nsec pulse of 10 joules. Observations of a Doppler-shifted component and of satellite lines are reported.     

Observations on period-doubling phenomena in a basic plasma experiment

Observations on period-doubling phenomena by exciting lower hybrid and ion cyclotron fluctuations in the presence of rf power in a plasma experiment are reported. The Feigenbaum number δ is calculated for the first two bifurcations and found to be 4.138. Nonlinear nature of the ion cyclotron oscillations gives rise to the interaction between modes that ultimately generate higher harmonics of the initial frequencies.     

Collapse dynamics of a self-magnetized Langmuir plasma

We show that the set of generalized Zakharov equations which take into account the self-magnetic field reduce under certain circumstances to a generalized non-linear Schrödinger equation. We also that in the same approximation the self-magnetic field helps rather than hinders the Langmuir collapse.     

Observations of MeV ions emitted from a laser produced plasma

Fast-ion emission from tungsten plasmas has been studied with neodymium laser intensities from 5x10¹² to 2x10¹⁵ W/cm². Ion energies into the MeV region have been observed. The variation of ion energy (E_I) with laser intensity (I) was found to be of the form E_I∞I^0.65.     

Laser-driven relativistic electron dynamics in a cylindrical plasma channel

The energy and trajectory of the electron, which is irradiated by a high-power laser pulse in a cylindrical plasma channel with a uniform positive charge and a uniform negative current, have been analyzed in terms of a single-electron model of direct laser acceleration. We find that the energy and trajectory of the electron strongly depend on the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse. The electron can be accelerated significantly only when the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse are in suitable ranges due to the dephasing rate between the wave and electron motion. Particularly, when their values satisfy a critical condition,the electron can stay in phase with the laser and gain the largest energy from the laser. With the enhancement of the electron energy, strong modulations of the relativistic factor cause a considerable enhancement of the electron transverse oscillations across the channel, which makes the electron trajectory become essentially three-dimensional, even if it is flat at the early stage of the acceleration.     

Observations of acoustic-wave-induced superluminescence in an argon plasma

It is shown that in an argon discharge plasma it is possible to obtain overpopulation of certain electronic levels of atomic argon under the influence of acoustic waves. When the specified threshold is exceeded, then a superluminescence (in the form of light flashes) from the overpopulated electronic levels of atomic argon is observed.     

Photon dynamics in plasma waves

In this Letter the evolution of a single photon and collective effect of a photon system in background plasma waves are uniformly described in the framework of photon dynamics. In a small-amplitude plasma wave the modulation of photon dynamical behavior by the plasma wave can be treated as perturbation, and photon acceleration effect and photon Landau damping are investigated in linear theory. In an arbitrary-amplitude plasma wave, photon evolution trajectories in phase space are obtained by solving dynamical equations, and photon trapping effect and motion equations in the given plasma wave are also discussed.     

Internal dynamics of a plasma propelled across a magnetic field

When a plasma is pushed across a magnetic field by some nonelectromagnetic force, ions and electrons get turned in opposite directions by the magnetic field. This creates an internal current as well as sheaths at the plasma surfaces and results in an electric field which allows the plasma to maintain some, or even most of its initial momentum in the form of E&oarr;×B&oarr; drift. An exact analysis of that process is presented for the internal region of the plasma. The energy provided by the initial push is used, in part, to create some gyrations inside the plasma. When the rest energy density of the plasma exceeds twice the magnetic energy density (or when the Alfven speed is less than c), there will be enough energy to spare for the plasma to continue across the magnetic field at half its initial momentum. Two cases are considered: an impulsive start and a gentle push such as provided by gravity. The amplitude of the resulting internal gyrations becomes small in the second case. The frequencies of the gyrations are those of extraordinary modes of very long spatial wavelength     

Nonlinear low-frequency electrostatic wave dynamics in a two-dimensional quantum plasma

The problem of two-dimensional arbitrary amplitude low-frequency electrostatic oscillation in a quasi-neutral quantum plasma is solved exactly by elementary means. In such quantum plasmas we have treated electrons quantum mechanically and ions classically. The exact analytical solution of the nonlinear system exhibits the formation of dark and black solitons. Numerical simulation also predicts the possible periodic solution of the nonlinear system. Nonlinear analysis reveals that the system does have a bifurcation at a critical Mach number that depends on the angle of propagation of the wave. The small-amplitude limit leads to the formation of weakly nonlinear Kadomstev–Petviashvili solitons.     

Particle dynamics during adiabatic expansion of a plasma bunch

The renormalization-group approach is used to obtain an exact solution to the self-consistent Vlasov kinetic equations for plasma particles in the quasi-neutral approximation. This solution describes the one-dimensional adiabatic expansion of a plasma bunch into a vacuum for arbitrary initial particle velocity distributions. Ion acceleration is studied for two-temperature Maxwellian and super-Gaussian initial electron distributions, which predetermine distinctly different ion spectra. The solution found is used to describe the acceleration of ions of two types. The relative acceleration efficiency of light and heavy ions as a function of atomic weights and number densities is analyzed. The solutions obtained are of practical importance in describing ion acceleration during the interaction of an ultrashort laser pulse with nanoplasma, for example, cluster plasma or plasma produced when thin foils are irradiated by a laser.     

Observations of stark broadening of resonance lines in a beryllium,laser produced plasma

The resonance lines of Be IV are Stark-broadened in a laser produced plasma. The distribution of the electron density is derived by a measurement of the line profiles and comparison with theory. Density values up to 10²¹ cm^-3 have been found near the target.     

Transverse envelope dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam in a long plasma

The transverse dynamics of a 28.5-GeV electron beam propagating in a 1.4 m long, (0-2)x10(14) cm(-3) plasma are studied experimentally in the underdense or blowout regime. The transverse component of the wake field excited by the short electron bunch focuses the bunch, which experiences multiple betatron oscillations as the plasma density is increased. The spot-size variations are observed using optical transition radiation and Cherenkov radiation. In this regime, the behavior of the spot size as a function of the plasma density is well described by a simple beam-envelope model. Dynamic changes of the beam envelope are observed by time resolving the Cherenkov light.     

Observations on the dynamics of external cavity semiconductor lasers

Dynamics of external cavity semiconductor lasers is known to be a complex and uncontrollable phenomenon. Due to the lack of experimental studies on the nature of the external cavity semiconductor lasers, there is a need to theoretically clarify laser dynamics. The stability of laser dynamics in the present paper, is analyzed through plotting the Lyapunov exponent spectra, bifurcation diagrams, phase portrait and electric field intensity time series. The analysis is preformed with respect to applied feedback phase C_p, feedback strength η and the pump current of the laser. The main argument of the paper is to show that the laser dynamics can not be accounted for through simply a bifurcation diagram and single-control parameter. The comparison of the obtained results provides a very detailed picture of the qualitative changes in laser dynamics.     

Observations of vacuum spark dynamics from its X-ray emission

The behavior of a medium energy (~1 kJ) pulse-power-driven vacuum spark is shown to depend on the electrode material and form of the anode in otherwise similar conditions of operation. The dynamical evolution of the discharge is followed from its soft X-ray emission. The electrode materials compared are titanium and aluminum with a form of anode that is tubular or conical. The use of a tubular anode favors a more uniform sheath and a better formation of a dense Z-pinch and the ensuing hot spots are found to be at least twice as bright. The position of the brightest spots differs according to the material and the electrode shape, and is found to coincide with the shape of the sheath. The energy output is measured and the density of the plasma in the hot spots may be calculated     

Simulation of the dynamics of strongly interacting macroparticles in a weakly ionized plasma

The method of molecular dynamics is used to study the dynamic behavior of a nonideal system of particles interacting through screened Coulomb potential. The behavior of the self-diffusion coefficient of particles as a function of the nonideality parameter is investigated. The conditions of the crystallization of such a system are discussed, as well as the possibility of using the crystallization criterion, based on the dynamic characteristics of the system.