Collimated and neutral electron-positron plasmas in the laboratory

实验室准直和中性正负电子等离子体

基本信息

批准号：
EP/N022696/1
负责人：
Gianluca Sarri
金额：
$ 3.6万
依托单位：
Queen's University Belfast
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2016 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FN022696%2F1
关键词：
Collimated neutral electron positron plasmas

项目摘要

An electron-positron pair plasma (EPP) is a unique state of matter that presents an exact symmetry between its negatively charged (electrons) and positively charged (positrons) constituents. Despite being virtually absent on Earth, it is believed to be a rather common occurrence in the Universe and it is thought to represent the main constituent of the atmosphere of immense astrophysical objects such as black holes, quasars, and pulsars. There is general consensus in the astrophysical community that EPPs are likely candidates for being the main ingredient of some of the most powerful emissions of matter from these objects, in the form of collimated jets, which are ultimately associated with the emission of ultra-bright and short-lived gamma-ray bursts. These astrophysical objects are exceptional natural laboratories to test physics at its limits and, due to their immense distance from Earth (some exceeding a billion light years), they provide a unique window on the primordial stages of our Universe. Despite their fascinating role in a wide range of fundamental physical scenarios, EPPs are poorly understood due to the extreme difficulty in generating them in the laboratory. All our knowledge of this peculiar state of matter relies exclusively on astrophysical observations and their theoretical interpretation. However, astrophysical measurements are intrinsically limited and it is virtually impossible to access the microphysics of these objects due to their immense distance from Earth. Laboratory experiments would greatly advance our knowledge of this state of matter and only recently the Principal Investigator and his collaborators have succeeded in producing a neutral electron-positron plasma in the laboratory.We propose here to continue this line of exciting experimental research by performing a series of experiments using the HERCULES laser hosted by the Centre for Ultrafast Optical Sciences (CUOS) at the University of Michigan, US. In particular, we plan to improve the quality of laser-generated EPPs by minimising their divergence and therefore significantly extend their propagation distance in controlled background electron-ion plasmas. The successful generation of a collimated and neutral EPP will allow, for the first time, for the study of EPP dynamics in background electron-ion plasmas in conditions of relevance to the propagation of astrophysical jets in the intergalactic medium. This preliminary work will not only be of interest in its own right but it will also serve as the basis for obtaining more extended grant funding on this newly developing area of experimental research.

电子峰值血浆（EPP）是一种独特的物质状态，在其负电荷（电子）和带正电荷（正电子）成分之间具有精确的对称性。尽管实际上在地球上没有，但据信它在宇宙中是一个相当普遍的发生，被认为代表了巨大的天体物理物体大气的主要组成部分，例如黑洞，类星体和脉冲星。在天体物理学界达成了一般共识，即EPP可能是候选人是这些物体中一些最强大的物质排放的主要成分，即以准确的喷气式的形式，最终与超光线和短效率和短效率的Gamma-ray爆发有关。这些天体物理物体是在其极限下测试物理学的非凡天然实验室，并且由于它们与地球的距离很大（有些超过十亿光年），因此它们在我们宇宙的原始阶段提供了独特的窗口。尽管在广泛的基本物理场景中起着令人着迷的作用，但由于在实验室中产生它们的极端困难，EPP的理解很少。我们对这种奇特状态的所有知识仅依赖于天体物理观察及其理论解释。但是，天体物理的测量本质上是有限的，由于它们与地球的距离很大，因此几乎不可能访问这些物体的微物理学。实验室实验将大大提高我们对这种物质状态的了解，直到最近，主要研究者及其合作者才成功地在实验室中产生了中性的电子峰等离子体。我们在这里建议在这里继续进行这项激动人心的实验研究，通过使用HERCULES LASER托管的一系列实验进行超级抗体的托管中心（Cuos），MIR MICH（CUOS），CUOS（CUOS），CUOS），cuos（CUOS），该实验均进行了一系列实验。特别是，我们计划通过最大程度地降低激光生成的EPP的质量，从而显着扩大其在受控背景电子离子等离子体中的传播距离。在与天体物理学介质中天体物理喷气机的传播有关的条件下，成功生成准直的EPP将首次允许在背景电子离子等离子体中研究EPP动力学。这项初步工作本身将引起人们的关注，而且还将作为在这一新开发的实验研究领域获得更多扩展赠款资金的基础。