Concentric-Ring Patterns in a Helium Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

We perform the theoretical simulation of the concentric-ring patterns between two parallel electrodes covered with thin dielectric layers within the scope of a two-dimensional diffusion-drift model at atmospheric pressure. The time evolution of the discharge patterns is studied and the concentric-ring patterns with different radii shift alternately. The spatial-temporal evolution of electron density in a cycle at different time scales is performed.     

Mechanism of Striation in Dielectric Barrier Discharge

The mechanism of striations in dielectric barrier discharge in pure neon is studied by a two-dimensional particle- in-cell/Monte Carlo collision （PIC-MCC） model. It is shown that the striations appear in the plasma background, and non-uniform electrical field resulting from ionization and the negative wall charge appear on the dielectric layer above the anode. The sustainment of striations is a non-local kinetic effect of electrons in a stratified field controlled by non-elastic impact with neutral gases. The striations in the transient dielectric barrier discharge are similar to those in dc positive column discharge.     

Optical Emission Spectroscopy Investigation of a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Aerodynamic Actuator

The optical emission spectroscopy of a surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma aerodynamic actuator is investigated with different electrode configurations, applied voltages and driving frequencies. The rotational temperature of N2 （C^3 Ⅱu） molecule is calculated according to its rotational emission band near 380.5 nm. The average electron energy of the discharge is evaluated by emission intensity ratio of first negative system to second positive system of N2. The rotational temperature is sensitive to the inner space of an electrode pair. The average electron energy shows insensitivity to the applied voltage, the driving frequency and the electrode configuration.     

Numerical Study on Characteristics of Argon Radio-Frequency Glow Discharge with Varying gas Pressure

A one-dimensional fluid simulation on argon rf glow discharge with varying linearly gas pressure from 1 Torr to 100 Tort is performed. The model based on mass conservation equations for electron and ion under diffusion and mobility approximation, and the electron energy conservation equation is solved numerically by finite volume method. The numerical results show that a uniform plasma with high density can be obtained from rf glow discharge with varying gas pressure, and the density of plasma becomes higher as the gas pressure varies from 1 Tort to 100 Tort. It is also shown that in the range of the gas pressure from 1 Tort to 100 Tort with the slower rate of varying gas pressure, higher density of plasma can be obtained.     

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.     

Determination of Ionization Coefficient of Atmospheric Helium in Dielectric Barrier Discharge

A weakly luminous layer close to the anode is observed at time far ahead of the current pulse in dielectric barrier discharge of helium at atmospheric pressure and it is considered as the result of a very weak Townsend discharge. Based on the assumption that the space charge produced by this Townsend discharge is too small to distort the uniform electric field in the gas gap, the electrons have more or less the same energy over the entire gap and the spatial distribution of the discharge light is proportional to the distribution of electron density. This light distribution is obtained by processing side-view photograph of discharge gap using an intensified charge coupled device camera with an exposure time of 20ns. By fitting a theoretically derived formula with the measured curve of light distribution, the Townsend electron ionization coefficient α is determined to be 31 cm^-1 at E/p = 3.6 V·cm^-1·Torr^-1, which is much higher than that obtained by solving the Boltzmann equation of pure helium. It is believed that penning ionization of helium metastables with impurity of nitrogen molecules makes great contribution to the experimentally determined α value. The contribution of this penning ionization to α is roughly estimated.     

Mono-Energetic Proton Beam Acceleration in Laser Foil-Plasma Interactions

Acceleration of ions from ultrathin foils irradiated by intense circularly polarized laser pulses is investigated using a one-dimensional particle-in-cell code. As a circularly polarized laser wave heats the electrons much less efficiently than the wave of linear polarization, the ion can be synchronously accelerated and bunched by the electrostatic field, thus a monoenergetic and high intensity proton beam can be generated.     

Relativistic Electron Acceleration in a Wake Field Generated by the Intense Femtosecond Laser Interaction with a Mixture Jet of Deuterium Clusters and Molecules

High energy electron acceleration in a wake field generated in the intense ultrashort （30fs） laser pulse cluster gas jet interaction is experimentally demonstrated. Relativistic electrons with energy of 60 MeV were observed. These high energy electrons split into two beams due to the relativistic self-focusing of the laser.     

Laser-triggered ion acceleration at moderate intensity and pulse duration

Two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of laser-triggered ion acceleration in overdense plasma at moderate intensity (≃1.4×10¹⁸ W/cm²) and pulse duration (≃0.5 ps) are presented. We focus on the comparison of the efficiency of ion acceleration for normal and oblique incidence of the laser light, for backward and forward directions of ion emission, and for large and small focal spots. We discuss the correlation between the properties of accelerated ions and hot electrons, and identify the tendency of the ion spectra in the forward direction to those typical for the isothermal and adiabatic regimes of plasma expansion.     

Formation of Vegetation Patterns and Hysteresis Phenomena in Arid and Semiarid Zones

Considering the spatial effect of the complicated interactions between plant and resource （soil water） and the stochastic character of the complicated ecological processes in an ecosystem, we introduce a lattice gas model to investigate the vegetation pattern formation in the arid and the semiarid ecosystems with Monte Carlo sim- ulations. With consistency of some previous mean-field models, the model reproduces a wide range of patterns observed in the arid and the semiarid regions. The sequences of vegetation states are also investigated with scanning three parameters, i.e., the precipitation and the plant growth rate, and then the parameter ranges are identified where a hysteresis loop appears and two different stable states coexist. The simulation results denote that the complex structures occur only when the precipitation parameter decreases. Moreover, based on the model, it is found that an increase of the competition of the plant for the resource along the slope direction results in the regular stripes parallel to the hill＇s contours. The model provides an interesting mechanism to understand the formation of the other regular vegetation stripe in a limited resource condition.     

Numerical Simulations of Calcium Ions Spiral Wave in Single Cardiac Myocyte

The calcium ions （Ca^2＋） spark is an elementary Ca^2＋ release event in cardiac myocytes. It is believed to buildup cell-wide Ca^2＋ signals, such as Ca^2＋ transient and Ca^2＋ wave, through a Ca^2＋-induced Ca^2＋ release （CICR） mechanism. Here the excitability of the Ca^2＋ wave in a single cardiac myoeyte is simulated by employing the fire-diffuse-fire model. By modulating the dynamic parameters of Ca^2＋ release and re-uptake channels, we find three Ca^2＋ signaling states in a single cardiac myoeyte： no wave, plane wave, and spiral wave. The period of a spiral wave is variable in the different regimes. This study indicates that the spiral wave or the excitability of the system can be controlled through micro-modulation in a living excitable medium.     

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.     

New Mechanism for Enhancing Ash Removal Efficiency and Reducing Tritium Inventory

A new mechanism is suggested to suppress ash particle back streams in the divertor region of our fusion experimental breeder （FEB） reactor for enhancing the ash removal efficiency and reducing the tritium inventory by applications of the nonlinear effect of high power rf ponderomotive force potential which reflects the platereleased and re-ionized He^＋ back to the plate. Meanwhile, the potential does not hinder α particles, which are coming from scraping of the layer, flowing to the target plate. However, it does stop tritium ions flowing to the target. Based on the FEB design parameters, our calculations have shown that the ash removal efficiency can be improved by as much as 40% if the parallel component of rf field 150-200 V/cm is applied to the location at a perpendicular distance L = 20 cm apart from the plate and the plate-recycling neutral helium atom energy is＇ about 0.75eV, at the same time, the tritium inventory can be reduced to some extent.     

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.     

Effect of excavated trapped electron distributions on ion-acoustic solitary structures in an electron-positron-ion plasma

Fully nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic solitary waves in an unmagnetized electron-positron-ion plasma is investigated. A more realistic situation is considered in which electrons interact with the wave potential during its evolution and, follow the vortex-like excavated trapped distribution. The basic properties of large amplitude solitary waves are studied by deriving an energy integral equation involving Sagdeev potential. It is shown that effects of such electron behavior and positron concentration change the maximum values of the Mach number and amplitude for which solitary waves can exist. The small amplitude limit is also investigated by expanding the Sagdeev potential to include third-order nonlinearity of electric potential. In this case, exact analytical solution is obtained which is related to the contribution of the resonant electron to the electron density. It is shown from both highly and weakly nonlinear analysis that the plasma system under consideration supports only compressive solitary waves.     

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.     

Nonlinear Shock and Kink Waves with Complete Coriolis Force in Earth's Atmosphere

Nonlinear waves in a Boussinesq fluid model which includes both the vertical and horizontal components of Coriolis force are studied by using the semi-geostrophic approximation and the method of travelling-wave solution. Taylor series expansion has been employed to isolate the characteristics of the linear Rossby waves and to identify the nonlinear shock and kink waves. The KdV-Burgers and the compound KdV-Burgers equations are derived, their shock wave and kink wave solution are also obtained.     

Relativistic Magnetosonic Soliton in a Negative-Ion-Rich Magnetized Plasma

Two-dimensional (2D) relativistic magnetosonic solitons in the negative-ion-rich plasma consisting of positive ions Ar⁺, negative ions SF₆^- and electrons are investigated in the presence of an applied magnetic field B₀ and can be described by a Kadomtsev--Petviashvili (KP) equation in the weakly relativistic limit. The ratio of positive ion density to negative ion density has a marked influence on the amplitude Φ_m and width W of the steady-state KP soliton. The interaction law of the nontrivial solitons with rich web structure is studied by the Wronskian determinant method.     

Propagation and Interaction of Ion-Acoustic Solitary Waves in a Two-Dimensional Plasma Consisting of Isothermal Electrons and Hot Ions

We study the propagation and interaction of ion-acoustic solitary waves in a simple two-dimensional plasma by using the extended Poincare Lighthill-Kuo perturbation method. We consider the interaction between two ion-acoustic solitary waves with different propagation directions in such a system, and obtain two Korteweg-de Vries equations for small but finite amplitude solitary waves along both ξ and η trajectories. The effects of the ratio of ion temperature σ the ratio of heat capacity γ and the colliding angle a on the amplitude, the width of the new nonlinear wave created by the collision between two solitary waves are studied. The effects of these parameters on both the colliding solitary waves are examined as well. It is found that all the above-mentioned parameters have significant effects on the properties of these nonlinear waves.