CAREER: Non-Adiabatic Effects in Dense Plasmas

这一职业奖支持探索我们所知存在于宇宙中的一些最极端的物质状态，并可以在实验室环境中进行探测。所有可见物质都由两个组分组成，重原子核被轻得多的电子包围。人们通常认为，运动缓慢的原子核对周围飞驰的电子反应很弱。这一前提是现代物理和化学模拟技术的基石。然而，极端的环境，如行星和恒星的中心，会产生令人难以置信的高温致密物质。这导致快速移动的电子开始与缓慢移动的原子核强烈相互作用，挑战了之前的假设。该奖项支持一些世界上最大的激光器的实验工作，包括国家点火设施--世界上最高能量的激光器。恶劣的天体物理条件将在地球上重现，以测量数据稀缺的区域中的原子核动力学。基本量的测量，包括粒子扩散和声速，将用于验证最先进的量子力学模拟。该项目将通过向全球等离子体社区提供教育和研究机会，帮助培训下一代科学家。教育和推广将集中于为未被充分代表的学生提供高性能计算技术的机会和培训。密集等离子体的模拟通常使用绝热近似，通常通过电子和离子运动的不同能量尺度来证明是合理的。假设电子瞬间调整到电离场，而离子被限制在单一的绝热表面。最近超过这一近似值的方法导致了对等离子体性质预测的显著差异，缺乏防止相互竞争的模型之间区分的实验测量。这项研究计划将使用一种新的实验平台，为欧米茄和NIF激光设备开发，以执行第一次测量热致密物质区域的扩散。该平台将采用菲涅尔衍射射线照相术，这是一种激光驱动X射线的新诊断技术，可测量缓慢的、扩散驱动的密度梯度变化，并具有出色的空间分辨率。实验工作得到了使用新的先进模拟的扩散系数预测的支持，这些模拟将电子动力学纳入复杂的量子力学框架中。这些模拟将由本科生进行，并在内华达大学Reno高性能计算团队的支持下进行。主要的研究目标是清楚地区分非绝热的本质不同的等离子体模型。该项目由物理部和已建立的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This CAREER award supports exploration of some of the most extreme states of matter we know to exist in the universe and can probe in a laboratory setting. All visible matter is made up of two components, heavy nuclei surrounded by much lighter electrons. The slow-moving nuclei are often assumed to respond weakly to the electrons hurtling around them. This premise is the cornerstone of modern simulation techniques in both physics and chemistry. However, extreme environments, such as in the center of planets and stars, create incredibly hot dense matter. This results in fast-moving electrons that begin to strongly interact with the slow-moving nuclei, challenging previous assumptions. This award supports experimental work at some of the world's largest lasers, including the National Ignition Facility - the world's most energetic laser. The harsh astrophysical conditions will be recreated on Earth to measure the nuclei dynamics in regimes where data is scarce. Measurements of fundamental quantities, including particle diffusion and sound speed, will be used to validate state-of-the-art quantum mechanical simulations. The project will help train the next generation of scientists by offering education and research opportunities to the global plasma community. The education and outreach will focus on providing underrepresented students access to and training in high-performance computing techniques.Simulations of dense plasmas typically employ the adiabatic approximation, usually justified through the disparate energy scales of the electron and ion motion. The electrons are assumed to instantaneously adjust to the ion fields, while the ions are confined to a single adiabatic surface. Recent approaches that go beyond this approximation have led to significant differences in the predictions of plasma properties, with a dearth of experimental measurements preventing discrimination between competing models. This research program will employ a new experimental platform, developed for the Omega and NIF laser facilities, to perform the first measurement of diffusion in the warm dense matter regime. This platform will employ Fresnel Diffractive Radiography, a novel diagnostic technique for laser-driven X-rays that measures the slow, diffusion-driven changes in density gradients with exceptional spatial resolution. The experimental work is supported by predictions of the diffusion coefficient using new advanced simulations that incorporate the electron dynamics within a complex, quantum-mechanical framework. These simulations will be conducted by undergraduate students and performed with support from the University of Nevada, Reno High-Performance Computing team. The primary research goal is to clearly discriminate between plasma models with fundamentally different approaches to non-adiabaticity. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Physics and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.