Fundamental Processes in Plasmas

这项研究将包括实验，理论和模拟等离子体中广泛的基本过程，并将强调的问题，精确的实验测试的理论可以得到。 实验将在两个装备良好的非中性等离子体装置上进行：一个激光诊断离子装置，它可以“标记”离子并跟踪它们的后续运动;和一个相机诊断电子装置。 理论工作将集中在粒子之间的长程碰撞上，其中新发现的“碰撞笼”效应增强了粒子的减速率和增强了跨场传输。 相关等离子体中碰撞的表征也将继续进行，特别是关于恒星聚变中的“动力屏蔽”争议。该研究计划在物理学领域建立了强有力的跨学科联系，为原子物理学，统计物理学，流体物理学和等离子体物理学做出了贡献和借鉴。 例如，电子实验和理论提供了洞察大规模大气流动中的旋涡，和最近的结果“混乱”的粒子传输直接涉及到环形几何形状的聚变等离子体。 用于无限时间容纳的“旋转壁”技术是在UCSD开发的，现在被广泛使用，特别是对于昂贵的粒子，如反物质。 此外，理论与实验之间的强有力的迭代互动为培养本科生和研究生提供了非常丰富的环境。

This research will consist of experiments, theory, and simulation on a broad range of fundamental processes in plasmas, and will emphasize problems for which precise experimental tests of theory can be obtained. The experiments will be performed on two well-instrumented non-neutral plasma apparatuses: a laser-diagnosed ion apparatus which can "tag" ions and follow their subsequent motion; and a camera-diagnosed electron apparatus. Theory work will focus on long-range collisions between particles, where a newly-discovered "collisional caging" effect gives enhanced particle slowing-down rates and enhanced cross-field transport. Characterization of collisions in correlated plasmas will also continue, especially in regard to the "dynamical screening" controversy in stellar fusion.This research program makes strong interdisciplinary connections across fields of physics, contributing to and drawing from atomic physics, statistical physics, fluid physics and plasma physics. For example, the electron experiments and theory have provided insight into vortices in large-scale atmospheric flows, and recent results on "chaotic" particle transport relate directly to fusion plasmas in toroidal geometry. The "rotating wall" technique for infinite-time containment was developed at UCSD, and is now used widely, especially for expensive particles such as anti-matter. Moreover, the strong, iterative interaction between theory and experiment provides an exceptionally rich environment for training undergraduate and graduate students.