Instabilities responsible for magnetic turbulence in laboratory rotating plasma

Instabilities responsible for magnetic turbulence in laboratory rotating plasma are investigated. It is shown that the plasma compressibility gives a new driving mechanism in addition to the known Velikhov effect due to the negative rotation frequency gradient. This new mechanism is related to the perpendicular plasma pressure gradient, while the density gradient gives an additional drive depending also on the pressure gradient. It is shown that these new effects can manifest themselves even in the absence of the equilibrium magnetic field, which corresponds to nonmagnetic instabilities.     

Magnetorotational instability in nonmagnetized plasma

It is shown that the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can be driven in nonmagnetized plasma. In this case, in contrast to the case of strongly magnetized plasma, radial derivative of plasma rotation frequency should be positive for such a driving. The characteristic wave lengths of MRI in nonmagnetized plasma are of the same order of magnitude as those for the Weibel instability.     

Reflection of Electromagnetic Waves by a Nonuniform Plasma Layer Covering a Metal Surface

Reflection coefficients of electromagnetic waves in a nonuniform plasma layer with electrons, positive ions and negative ions, covering a metal surface are investigated by using the finite-difference-time-domMn method. It is shown that the reflection coemcients are influenced greatly by the density gradient on the layer edge, layer thickness and electron proportion, i.e., the effect of the negative ions. It is also found that low reflection or high attenuation can be reached by properly choosing high electron proportion, thick plasma layer, and smooth density gradient in the low frequency regime, but sharp density gradient in the high frequency regime.     

Ion acceleration by the space charge electric force arising from the radiation pressure in a magnetized electron–positron plasma

It is shown that ions can be accelerated by the space charge electric force arising from the separation of electrons and positrons due to the ponderomotive force of the magnetic field-aligned circularly polarized electromagnetic (CPEM) wave in a magnetized electron–positron–ion plasma. The ion acceleration critically depends on the external magnetic field strength. The result is useful in understanding differential ion acceleration in magnetized electron–positron–ion plasmas, such as those in magnetars and in some laboratory experiments that aim to mimic astrophysical environments.     

Effect of Elongation on Critical Gradient for Toroidal Electron Temperature Gradient Modes

The electron temperature gradient mode is investigated in elongated toroidal plasmas with a gyrokinetic integral eigenmode equation code. Dependence of the critical electron temperature gradient on the elongation is calculated. It is found that when the elongation increases, the growth rate spectrum is greatly shifted towards shorter poloidal wavelength, and then the poloidal wavenumber at which the mode is destabilizing critically in elongated plasmas will be larger than that in circular plasmas.     

Dust-acoustic solitary waves in an adiabatic hot dusty plasma

An adiabatic hot dusty plasma (containing non-inertial adiabatic electron and ion fluids, and negatively charged inertial adiabatic dust fluid) is considered. The basic properties of arbitrary amplitude dust-acoustic (DA) solitary waves, which exist in such an adiabatic hot dusty plasma, are explicitly examined by the pseudo-potential approach. To compare the basic properties (critical Mach number, amplitude and width) of the DA solitary waves observed in a dusty plasma containing adiabatic electron, ion and dust fluids with those observed in a dusty plasma containing isothermal electron and ion fluids and adiabatic dust fluid, it has been found that the adiabatic effect of inertia-less electron and ion fluids has significantly modified the basic properties of the DA solitary waves, and that on the basic properties of the DA solitary waves, the adiabatic effect of electron and ion fluids is much more significant than that of the dust fluid.     

Effects of adiabaticity of electrons and ions on dust-ion-acoustic solitary waves

The nonlinear propagation of dust-ion-acoustic (DIA) waves in an adiabatic dusty plasma (containing adiabatic inertial-less electrons, adiabatic inertial ions, and negatively charged static dust) is investigated by the pseudo-potential approach. The combined effects of adiabatic electrons and negatively charged static dust on the basic properties (critical Mach number, amplitude, and width) of small as well as arbitrary amplitude DIA solitary waves are explicitly examined. It is found that the combined effects of adiabatic electrons and negatively charged static dust significantly modify the basic properties (critical Mach number, amplitude, and width) of the DIA solitary waves. It is also found that due to the effect of adiabaticity of electrons, negative DIA solitary waves [which are found to exist in a dusty plasma (containing isothermal electrons, cold ions, and negatively charged static dust) for α=zdnd0/ni0>2/3, where zd is the number of electrons residing onto a dust grain surface, nd0 is the constant (static) dust number density and ni0 is the equilibrium ion number density] disappears, i.e. due to the effect of adiabatic electrons, one cannot have negative DIA solitary waves for any possible set of dusty plasma parameters [0?α<1 and 0?σ=Ti0/Te0?1, where Ti0 (Te0) is electron (ion) temperature at equilibrium].     

Nonlinear localized dust acoustic waves in a charge varying dusty plasma with trapped ions

The problem of nonlinear variable charge dust acoustic waves in a dusty plasma with trapped ions is revisited. The correct non-isothermal ion charging current is presented for the first time based on the orbit motion limited (OML) approach. The variable dust charge is then expressed in terms of the Lambert function and we take advantage of this new transcendental function to investigate nonlinear localized dust acoustic waves in a charge varying dusty plasma with trapped ions more rigorously.     

Head-on collision of ion-acoustic solitary waves in a Thomas-Fermi plasma containing degenerate electrons and positrons

Head-on collision between two ion acoustic solitary waves in a Thomas-Fermi plasma containing degenerate electrons and positrons is investigated using the extended Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) method. The results show that the phase shifts due to the collision are strongly dependent on the positron-to-electron number density ratio, the electron-to-positron Fermi temperature ratio and the ion-to-electron Fermi temperature ratio. The present study might be helpful to understand the excitation of nonlinear ion-acoustic solitary waves in a degenerate plasma such as in superdense white dwarfs.     

Nonlinear generation of zonal flows by ion-acoustic waves in a uniform magnetoplasma

It is shown that large-scale zonal flows (ZFs) can be excited by Reynolds stress of nonlinearly interacting random phase ion-acoustic waves (EIAWs) in a uniform magnetoplasma. Since ZFs are associated with poloidal sheared flows, they can tear apart short scale EIAW turbulence eddies, and hence contribute to the reduction of the cross-field turbulent transport in a magnetized plasma.     

Coexistence of positive and negative solitary potential structures in dusty plasma

A dusty plasma system consisting of electrons, ions, and negative as well as positive dust particles has been considered. The basic properties of arbitrary amplitude solitary potential structures that may exist in such a multi-component dusty plasma have been theoretically investigated by the pseudo-potential approach. It has been found that the presence of additional positive dust component does not only significantly modify the basic properties of solitary potential structures, but also causes the coexistence of positive and negative solitary potential structures, which is a completely new feature shown in a dusty plasma with dust of opposite polarity.     

Electrostatic Instabilities at High Frequency in a Plasma Shock Front

New electrostatic instabilities in the plasma shock front are reported. These instabilities are driven by the electro- static field which is caused by charge separation and the parameter gradients in a plasma shock front. The linear analysis to the high frequency branch of electrostatic instabilities has been carried out and the dispersion relations are obtained numerically. There are unstable disturbing waves in both the parallel and perpendicular directions of shock propagation. The real frequencies of both unstable waves are similar to the electron electrostatic wave, and the unstable growth rate in the parallel direction is much greater than the one in the perpendicular direction. The dependence of growth rates on the electric field and parameter gradients is also presented.     

Effect of deviations from isothermality of ions on the propagation of localized dust-acoustic waves

The effect of deviations from isothermality of ions on arbitrary amplitude dust-acoustic solitary structures is studied in an unmagnetized dusty plasma which consists of a negative charged dust fluid, free electrons and hot ions obeying a trapped distribution. For the finite deviation from isothermality of ions, the basic properties of large amplitude solitary waves are studied by employing pseudo-potential approach. It is shown that the effect of such ion behavior changes the maximum values of the Mach number and the amplitude for which solitary wave can exist. For the case that the deviation from isothermality due to nonlinear resonant particle effects is small, calculations by reductive perturbation method leads to a generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation with mixed nonlinearity. The latter admits a stationary dust-acoustic solitary solution with similar width and qualitatively different amplitude in comparison to the case that deviations from isothermality are finite. Furthermore, effects of the equilibrium free electron density and such trapped ions on the amplitude of solitary structures imply a non-uniform transition from the Boltzmann ion distribution to the trapped ion one.     

Prolongation of the fluorescence lifetime of plasma channels in air induced by femtosecond laser pulses

The lifetime of plasma channels induced by femtosecond laser pulses is investigated by detecting the decay time of the fluorescence signals from ions. It is found that the lifetime of the plasma can be prolonged to the order of microseconds when an additional sub-nanosecond laser pulse is injected into the channel. This prolongation is due to the heating and further ionization through the inverse bremsstrahlung absorption of the post-pulse.     

Runaway Electron Beam Instability in Slide-Away Discharges in the HT-7 Tokamak

Slide-away discharges are achieved by decreasing the plasma density or ramping down the plasma current in runaway discharges in the HT-7 tokamak. In the case of plasma current ramp down, the ratio of the electron plasma frequency to the electron cyclotron frequency is higher than in the stationary pulses when the discharge goes into a slide-away regime. The instability regime is characterized by relaxations in the electron cyclotron emission due to relativistic anomalous Doppler effect which transfers energy from parallel to perpendicular motion. The triggering of relativistic anomalous Doppler effect at higher density by ramping down of plasma current may provide a alternative runaway energy control scenario.     

Optical and ultrasonic monitoring of femtosecond laser filamentation in fused silica

Millimeter-long filaments and accompanying luminous plasma and defect channels created in fused silica (FS) by single focused femtosecond laser pulses with supercritical powers were probed in situ using optical imaging and contact ultrasonic techniques. Above the threshold pulse energy E_opt = 5 μJ corresponding to a few megawatt power levels pulses collapse due to self-focusing, producing channels filled by electron-hole plasma and luminescent defects, and exhibits predominantly compressive pressure transients. Analysis of the optical and ultrasonic response versus the laser pulse energy suggests that filamentary pulse propagation in the channels occurs with considerable dissipation of about ∼10 cm⁻¹. The predominant ionization mechanism is most likely associated with avalanche ionization, while the main mechanism of optical absorption is free-carrier absorption via inverse Bremsstrahlung interaction with the polar lattice.     

On the chaotic aspects of three wave interaction in a magnetized plasma

Nonlinear processes in magnetized plasma are very much important for the proper understanding of many space and astrophysical events. One of the most important type of study has been done in the domain of Alfven waves. Here we show that a Galerkin type approximation of the DNLS (Derivative Nonlinear Schrödinger) equation describing such wave propagation leads to a new type of nonlinear dynamical systems, very much rich in chaotic properties. Starting with the detailed analysis of fixed points and stability zones we make an in depth study of the unstable periodic orbits, which span the whole attractor. Next the birth of a Hopf bifurcation is identified and normal form, limit cycle analyzed. In the course of our study the detailed structure of the attractor is analyzed. A possibility of internal crisis is also indicated. These results will help in the choice of the plasma parameters for the actual physical situation.     

Electrostatic solitons in unmagnetized hot electron-positron-ion plasmas

Linear and nonlinear electrostatic waves in unmagnetized electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) plasmas are studied. The electrons and positrons are assumed to be isothermal and dynamic while ions are considered to be stationary to neutralize the plasma background only. It is found that both upper (fast) and lower (slow) Langmuir waves can propagates in such a type of pair (e-p) plasma in the presence of ions. The small amplitude electrostatic Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) solitons are also obtained using reductive perturbation method. The electrostatic potential hump structures are found to exist when the temperature of the electrons is larger than the positrons, while the electrostatic potential dips are obtained in the reverse temperature conditions for electrons and positrons in e-p-i plasmas. The numerical results are also shown for illustration. The effects of different ion concentration and temperature ratios of electrons and positrons, on the formation of nonlinear electrostatic potential structures in e-p-i plasmas are also discussed.     

Excitation of multiple wakefields by short laser pulses in quantum plasmas

We present a theoretical investigation of the excitation of multiple electrostatic wakefields by the ponderomotive force of a short electromagnetic pulse propagating through a dense plasma. It is found that the inclusion of the quantum statistical pressure and quantum electron tunneling effects can qualitatively change the classical behavior of the wakefield. In addition to the well-known plasma oscillation wakefield, with a wavelength of the order of the electron skin depth (λe=c/ωpe, which in a dense plasma is of the order of several nanometers, where c is the speed of light in vacuum and ωpe is the electron plasma frequency), wakefields in dense plasmas with a shorter wavelength (in comparison with λe) are also excited. The wakefields can trap electrons and accelerate them to extremely high energies over nanoscales.