Axial magnetic fields in relativistic self-focusing channels

Based on an improved cavitation model for the electron dynamics, an exact analysis is presented of the generation of axial magnetic fields in the relativistic self-focusing channels produced by circularly polarized light in plasmas. Two kinds of waveguiding structures are considered: single-channel waveguides and plasma filaments surrounded by a light field. It is found that due to large electron density gradients in the cavitation plasma, magnetic fields of megagauss values with opposite directions separated by a neutral sheet, where the magnetic field passes through zero, can be produced.     

Temporal relaxation of plasma electrons acted upon by directcurrent electric and magnetic fields

On the basis of the time-dependent electron Boltzmann equation the temporal relaxation of the electrons in the presence of electric and magnetic fields in weakly ionized, collision dominated plasmas has been studied. The relaxation process is treated by using a strict time-dependent two-term approximation of the velocity distribution function expansion in spherical harmonics. A new technique for solving the time-dependent electron kinetic equation in this two-term approximation for arbitrary angles between the electric and magnetic fields has been developed and the main aspects of the efficient solution method are presented. Using this new approach and starting from steady-state plasmas under the action of time-independent electric fields only, the impact of superimposed DC magnetic fields on the electron relaxation is analyzed with regard to the control of a neon plasma. The investigations reveal an important effect of the magnetic field on the temporal relaxation process. In particular, it has been found that the relaxation time of the electron component with respect to the establishment of steady-state can be enlarged by some orders of magnitude when increasing the magnetic field strength     

An analytic solution of the Boltzmann equation in the presence of self-generated magnetic fields in astrophysical plasmas

Through relating a self-generated magnetic field to the regular motion of free electrons that is responsible for the magnetic field generation in astrophysical plasmas, we solve the Boltzmann kinetic equation in the presence of the self-generated magnetic fields to obtain a steady-state, collisional invariant analytic solution of the equation.     

Investigation of the particle spin properties on the velocity space instability in high‐density plasmas

The nonresonant electromagnetic instabilities of the anisotropic velocity space (Weibel‐like) have always been one of the interesting subjects for researchers. These electromagnetic instabilities play an important role in generating strong magnetic fields in laboratory plasmas for applications such as inertial confinement fusion and space plasmas. In this paper, we investigate the quantum effects of the particle spin on the electromagnetic instabilities. In the case of the presence of a magnetic dipole force and an electron precession frequency like the Vlasov equation, we derive the full quantum equation. This study shows that, in the presence of the spin‐polarized effects, the growth rate of the instabilities is reduced compared to the classical cases and will not arise for low fractions of the temperature anisotropy for different values of the magnetic field. Indeed, it is expected that the probability of electron capture in the background magnetic fields and the effective collision with the particle increase because of the spin effect, so that a high portion of the electron energy is transmitted to the background plasma, and the temperature anisotropy governing the electron distribution is reduced.     

Nonlinear dynamics of filamentation instability and current filament merging in a high density current-driven plasma

The magnetic field generation due to the filamentation instability (FI) of a high density current-driven plasma is studied through a new nonlinear diffusion equation. This equation is obtained on the basis of quantum hydrodynamic model and numerically solved by applying the Crank–Nicolson method. The spatiotemporal evolution of the magnetic field and the electron density distribution exhibits the current filament merging as a nonlinear phase of the FI which is responsible for the strong magnetic fields in the current-driven plasmas. It is found that the general behaviour of the FI is the same as that of the classical case but the instability growth rate, its magnitude, and the saturation time are affected by the quantum effects. It is eventually concluded that the quantum effects can play a stabilizing role in such situation.     

对超热电子诱生的磁场分布的估算

利用简化模型估算了电荷分离场及由超热电子逃逸在等离子体表面产生的自生磁场的大小和空间分布.受电荷分离场的影响以及超热电子逃逸数的限制,超热电子产生的环形磁场主要分布于等离子体表面附近的焦斑半径内,仅当超热电子束流很强时(在1μm半径截面内达到kA量级),环形磁场才可以达到10²T量级.一般情况下,由超热电子产生的磁场则极小 关键词： 磁场 超热电子     

Generation of magnetic fields by the non-stationary ponderomotive force of electromagnetic waves in plasmas with streaming electrons

It is shown that the non-stationary ponderomotive force of large amplitude electromagnetic waves in plasmas with streaming electrons can spontaneously create magnetic fields. The present result may account for the magnetic fields in laser-produces plasmas, in cosmic plasmas, as well as in galactic and inter-galactic spaces.     

Measuring magnetic fields in plasmas by means of light scattering

The theory of light scattering in plasmas containing a magnetic field yields the special case of modulated scattering spectra. The modulation frequency is governed by the field in the plasma and is equal to the electron cyclotron frequency. In this investigation magnetic fields in a plasma were determined by a laser scattering experiment. The experimental data were: electron densityn _e=10¹⁶cm^?3, electron temperatureT _e=3.2 eV, scattering angle θ=90 °, scattering parameter α=0.6, and a maximum field in the plasma of 125 kG. The spectrum measured at the maximum magnetic field was modulated with 3.6 × 10¹¹ Hz. In scattering experiments with a field reduced by about 20% the observed modulation frequency was 2.8 × 10¹¹ Hz. A thermal spectrum with a smooth profile was found when no field was present in the plasma. Applying the theory of cyclotron modulated spectra one obtains from the scattering experiment magnetic fields of 128, 100, and 0 kG. Within the experimental accuracy these values agree well with the fields determined by means of magnetic probes. Other possible interpretations of the measured deviations from thermal spectra (modulation with the plasma frequency or additional cold electron components in the plasma) are discussed, but they afford no explanation. This experiment has domonstrated that magnetic fields in plasmas can be measured locally and almost without disturbance by means of light scattering.     

Formation of collisionless high-beta plasmas by odd-parity rotating magnetic fields

Odd-parity rotating magnetic fields (RMFo) applied to mirror-configuration plasmas have produced average electron energies exceeding 200 eV at line-averaged electron densities of approximately 10(12) cm-3. These plasmas, sustained for over 10(3)tauAlfven, have low Coulomb collisionality, vc* triple bond L/lambdaC approximately 10(-3), where lambdaC is the Coulomb scattering mean free path and L is the plasma's characteristic half length. Divertors allow reduction of the electron-neutral collision frequency to values where the RMFo coupling indicates full penetration of the RMFo to the major axis.     

对超热电子诱生的磁场分布的估算

利用简化模型估算了电荷分离场及由超热电子逃逸在等离子体表面产生的自生磁场的大小和空间分布.受电荷分离场的影响以及超热电子逃逸数的限制,超热电子产生的环形磁场主要分布于等离子体表面附近的焦斑半径内,仅当超热电子束流很强时(在1μm半径截面内达到10³A量级),环形磁场才可以达到10²T量级.一般情况下,由超热电子产生的磁场极小. 关键词： 磁场 超热电子     

A one-dimensional fluid simulation of a magnetized DC discharge including the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field

A one-dimensional simulation of a magnetized DC discharge is conducted based on the fluid equations that consider the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field. We apply a dielectric relaxation scheme (DRS) as an efficient numerical algorithm that was recently developed for simulation of low-temperature process plasmas. The simulation results, such as the spatial profiles of ion densities, electron densities, electron fluxes, and electric fields, are compared with the simulation results for which the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field are neglected.     

Molecular dynamics simulations on density enhancement near ions at rest in electron plasmas

We use the molecular dynamics computer simulation technique to study the behavior of electron plasmas in the presence of highly charged ions and strong magnetic fields. Such systems are encountered in electron cooler and electron target facilities, where large recombination rates have been observed. Our simulation results show enhanced electron densities in the vicinity of the ion, with the enhancement depending only weakly on the bulk density. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Generation of Uniform Plasmas for Beat Wave Experiments

The laser plasma "beat wave" mechanism for the generation of ultrahigh electric fields requires plasmas of several meters length with density uniformity of about 1 percent. Multiphoton ionization of molecular hydrogen gas at a pressure of a few torr provides a scalable mechanism for generating these plasmas using the same laser beams that drive the beat wave. We describe measurements of electron density, temperature, and uniformity of plasmas generated by a frequency doubled Neodymium glass laser, at an irradiance of about 1014 W · cm-2. The plasma density corresponds to 100-percent ionization and is measured to be uniform to within the measurement errors over a length of 8 mm.     

Trapped-particle modes and asymmetry-induced transport in single-species plasmas

A new asymmetry-induced transport mechanism in pure electron plasmas is shown to be proportional to the damping rate of the corresponding trapped-particle mode, with simple scalings for all other parameters. This transport occurs when axial particle trapping exists due to variations in the electric or magnetic confinement fields. This new transport is strong for even weak unintentional trapping (deltaB/B approximately 10(-3)), and may be prevalent in transport experiments with magnetic or electrostatic theta asymmetries.     

Endogenous magnetic reconnection and associated high energy plasma processes

An endogenous reconnection process involves a driving factor that lays inside the layer where a drastic change of magnetic field topology occurs. A process of this kind is shown to take place when an electron temperature gradient is present in a magnetically confined plasma and the evolving electron temperature fluctuations are anisotropic. The width of the reconnecting layer remains significant even when large macroscopic distances are considered. In view of the fact that there are plasmas in the Universe with considerable electron thermal energy contents this feature can be relied upon in order to produce generation or conversion of magnetic energy, high energy particle populations and momentum and angular momentum transport.     

无碰撞等离子体中电子束流不稳定性的时空演化研究

应用二、三维相对论电磁粒子模拟程序研究双电子束流在无碰撞等离子体中传播引起的横向 电磁(Weibel类型)不稳定性和纵向静电不稳定性的发展演化过程.讨论了纯粹Weibel不稳定 性的发生和非线性饱和过程，观察到电流束合并、磁场重联等引起的电子横向加热现象.研 究了电流束传播方向激发的静电场对快电子束传播的影响，观察到其导致的束的横向调制、 磁场通道破坏现象.对这些过程的细致研究对更好的理解快点火物理中自生磁场的产生、快 电子输运等过程有重要意义.     

Additional acceleration and collimation of relativistic electron beams by magnetic field resonance at very high intensity laser interaction

For the interpretation of experiments for acceleration of electrons at interaction up to nearly GeV energy in laser produced plasmas, we present a new model using interaction magnetic fields. In addition to the ponderomotive acceleration of highly relativistic electrons at the interaction of very short and very intense laser pulses, a further acceleration is derived from the interaction of these electron beams with the spontaneous magnetic fields of about 100 MG. This additional acceleration is the result of a laser-magnetic resonance acceleration (LMRA) around the peak of the azimuthal magnetic field. This causes the electrons to gain energy within a laser period. Using a Gaussian laser pulse, the LMRA acceleration of the electrons depends on the laser polarization. Since this is in the resonance regime, the strong magnetic fields affect the electron acceleration considerably. The mechanism results in good collimated high energetic electrons propagating along the center axis of the laser beam as has been observed by experiments and is reproduced by our numerical simulations. PACS 41.75.Jv; 52.38.Kd; 52.65.Cc     

Chaotic transport and damping from θ-ruffled separatrices

Variations in magnetic or electrostatic confinement fields give rise to trapping separatrices, and neoclassical transport theory analyzes effects from collision-induced separatrix crossings. Experiments on pure electron plasmas now quantitatively characterize a broad range of transport and wave damping effects due to "chaotic" separatrix crossings, which occur due to equilibrium plasma rotation across θ-ruffled separatrices, and due to wave-induced separatrix fluctuations.     

Thomson散射诊断技术的新进展

Thomson散射是一种主动而无干扰地对等离子体进行诊断的方法．它能够以较高的时空分辨率测量等离子体的参数，如电子与离子温度、密度以及等离子体的膨胀速度、电离程度、热流等参数．文章从Thomson散射基本概念出发，介绍了Thomson散射诊断方法在研究激光与等离子体相互作用中的重要意义，并分别介绍了近年来Thomson散射诊断技术的新进展，如对高Z等离子体、两种离子种类的等离子体、多种形态等离子体以及高密度等离子体的研究．文章最后对国内Thomson散射诊断技术的发展状况进行了简述．