Astrophysically-relevant QED plasmas in the laboratory

我最近刚从肯特大学毕业，获得了天体物理学的物理学硕士学位。在完成本科学业的同时，我对等离子体物理及其在现实世界中的应用越来越感兴趣，尤其是在聚变能方面。我将在约克大学进行的项目名为“实验室中与天体物理学相关的QED等离子体”，由Kate Lancaster博士和Chris Ridgers博士监督。该项目的重点是使用新型多pw激光器创建量子电动力学（QED）等离子体。激光强度的增加将允许观察到新的光-物质相互作用，主要考虑电磁场如此强大以至于产生QED等离子体的情况。等离子体是由超相对论等离子体过程控制的，它完全改变了等离子体的行为；我们从经典过程转向量子效应。在这一领域进行的实验工作很少，因此QED等离子体在实验上还相对未被探索。虽然这种新体制的基本物理原理在实验室中几乎完全未被探索，但x射线对于致密材料（如压缩惯性约束核）的射线照相非常有用，而离子可以用于新型的快速点火聚变方案。该项目将结合实验室和实验工作，以及模拟来探索这种新的等离子体状态。

I have recently graduated from the University of Kent with an MPhys in Physics with Astrophysics. While completing my undergraduate studies, I became increasingly more interested in Plasma Physics and its real-world applications, particularly in Fusion Energy.The project I will undertake at York is entitled 'Astrophysically-relevant QED plasmas in the laboratory', supervised by Dr Kate Lancaster and Dr Chris Ridgers. The project focuses on creating quantum electrodynamic (QED) plasmas using new multi-PW lasers. This increase in laser intensity will allow for new light-matter interactions to be observed, mainly considering cases where electromagnetic fields are so strong that QED plasmas are created. The plasmas are governed by ultra-relativistic plasma processes that alter the behaviour of the plasma entirely; we move away from classical processes and toward quantum effects. There has been minimal experimental work undertaken in this area, so QED plasmas are relatively unexplored experimentally. While the underlying physics of this new regime is almost completely unexplored in the laboratory the x-rays could be very useful for radiography of dense materials such as compressed inertial confinement cores and the ions could be used for novel fast ignition fusion schemes. The project will be a combination of laboratory and experimental work, and simulations to explore this new plasma regime.