Table of contents

Dusty plasmas are a well accessible system to study crystallization of charged-particle systems at room temperature. The large mass compared to atomic particles dramatically slows down the particle velocities. The high transparency of the system allows to trace simultaneously the motion of all particles with quasi-atomic resolution. After a brief overview, the progress in this field is exemplified by studies of spherical three-dimensional plasma crystals, the so-called Yukawa balls. The static structure and eigenmodes are explained in simple terms. It is shown that shielding modifies the expansion of a Yukawa ball from a self-similar explosion to a continuous ablation process that starts at the surface. The experimental progress with three-dimensional diagnostics and laser heating and sophisticated methods for visualising the order inside the shell structure are described. Together with quantifying the diffusion coefficient these investigations reveal the details of the solid-liquid phase transition. Besides thermodynamic aspects, the liquid phase of dusty plasmas also gives access to hydrodynamic phenomena at the individual particle scale.

It is largely accepted that Galactic cosmic rays, which pervade the interstellar medium, originate by means of shock waves in supernova remnants. Cosmic rays activate the rich chemistry that is observed in a molecular cloud and they also regulate its collapse timescale, determining the efficiency of star and planet formation, but they cannot penetrate up to the densest part of a molecular cloud, where the formation of stars is expected, because of energy loss processes and magnetic field deflections. Recently, observations towards young protostellar systems showed a surprisingly high value of the ionisation rate, the main indicator of the presence of cosmic rays in molecular cloud. Synchrotron emission, the typical feature of relativistic electrons, has also been detected towards the bow shock of a T Tauri star. Nevertheless, the origin of these signatures peculiar to accelerated particles is still puzzling. Here we show that particle acceleration can be driven by shock waves occurring in protostars through the first-order Fermi acceleration mechanism. We expect that shocks in protostellar jets can be efficient accelerators of protons, which can be boosted up to mildly relativistic energies. A strong acceleration can also take place at the protostellar surface, where shocks produced by infalling material during the phase of collapse are powerful enough to accelerate protons. Our model shows that thermal particles can experience an acceleration during the first phases of a system similar to the proto-Sun, and can also be used to explain recent observations. The presence of a local source of cosmic rays may have an unexpected impact over the process of the formation of stars and planets, as well as on the pre-biotic molecule formation.

Due to the complex electron dynamics and multiple ion acceleration mechanisms that can take place in the interaction of an ultra-intense laser pulse with a thin foil, it is possible for multiple charged particle populations to overlap in space with varying momentum distributions. In certain scenarios this can drive streaming instabilities such as the relativistic Buneman instability and the ion–ion acoustic instability. The potential for such instabilities to occur are demonstrated using particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that if a population of ions can be accelerated such that it can propagate through other slowly expanding ion populations, energy exchange can occur via the ion–ion acoustic instability.

Properties of the I-mode confinement regime on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak are summarized. A weak dependence of the power threshold for the L-I transition on the toroidal magnetic field strength is found. During improved confinement, the edge radial electric field well deepens. Stability calculations show that the I-mode pedestal is peeling-ballooning stable. Turbulence investigations reveal strongly intermittent density fluctuations linked to the weakly coherent mode in the confined plasma, which become stronger as the confinement quality increases. Across all investigated structure sizes (${{k}_{\bot}}\approx 5$–12 cm⁻¹, with ${{k}_{\bot}}$ the perpendicular wavenumber of turbulent density fluctuations), the intermittent turbulence bursts are observed. Comparison with bolometry data shows that they move poloidally toward the X-point and finally end up in the divertor. This might be indicative that they play a role in inhibiting the density profile growth, such that no pedestal is formed in the edge density profile.

Temporal measurements of the electron density, metastable-atom density, and reduced electric field demonstrate that four orders of magnitude variation in the dynamic range of the electron-atom collision-induced excitation rates takes place during the 2.0 kV height, 40 µs duration repeating pulse applied to a 100 Pa (1 Torr), argon positive column in a hollow-cathode discharge. Correlation between metastable-atom density and emission-line ratio is demonstrated to be sufficiently reliable to infer one quantity based on the measurement of the other quantity during the Initiation, Transient, and Post-Transient spectroscopic stages of the pulse. Observed emission-line ratio and the predicted emission-line ratio are in quantitative agreement with each other in the Transient and Post-Transient stages of the discharge and are in qualitative agreement with each other in the Initiation stage of the discharge. Reasonable assumptions regarding the interpretation of the electron energy probability function (EEPF), as it starts off being Druyvesteyn and becomes more Maxwellian later with the increasing electron density, is key to interpreting the correlation and explaining the temporal behavior of the emission-line ratio in all stages of the discharge.

3D non-linear MHD simulations of a D₂ massive gas injection (MGI) triggered disruption in JET with the JOREK code provide results which are qualitatively consistent with experimental observations and shed light on the physics at play. In particular, it is observed that the gas destabilizes a large m/n  =  2/1 tearing mode, with the island O-point coinciding with the gas deposition region, by enhancing the plasma resistivity via cooling. When the 2/1 island gets so large that its inner side reaches the q  =  3/2 surface, a 3/2 tearing mode grows. Simulations suggest that this is due to a steepening of the current profile right inside q  =  3/2. Magnetic field stochastization over a large fraction of the minor radius as well as the growth of higher n modes ensue rapidly, leading to the thermal quench (TQ). The role of the 1/1 internal kink mode is discussed. An I_p spike at the TQ is obtained in the simulations but with a smaller amplitude than in the experiment. Possible reasons are discussed.

Table-top terawatt lasers can create relativistic light intensities and launch megaampere electron pulses in a solid. These pulses induce megagauss (MG) magnetic pulses, which in turn strongly affect the hot electron transport via electromagnetic instabilities. It is therefore crucial to characterize the MG magnetic fields in great detail. Here, we present measurements of the spatio-temporal evolution of MG magnetic fields produced by a high contrast (picosecond intensity contrast 10⁻⁹) laser in a dense plasma on a solid target. The MG magnetic field is measured using the magneto-optic Cotton–Mouton effect, with a time delayed second harmonic (400 nm) probe. The magnetic pulse created by the high contrast laser in a glass target peaks much faster and has a more rapid fall than that induced by a low contrast (10⁻⁶) laser.

A major advantage of the laser direct-drive (DD) approach to ignition is the increased fraction of laser drive energy coupled to the hot spot and relaxed hot-spot requirements for the peak pressure and convergence ratios relative to the indirect-drive approach at equivalent laser energy. With the goal of a successful ignition demonstration using DD, the recently established national strategy has several elements and involves multiple national and international institutions. These elements include the experimental demonstration on OMEGA cryogenic implosions of hot-spot conditions relevant for ignition at MJ-scale energies available at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and developing an understanding of laser-plasma interactions and laser coupling using DD experiments on the NIF. DD designs require reaching central stagnation pressures in excess of 100 Gbar. The current experiments on OMEGA have achieved inferred peak pressures of 56 Gbar (Regan et al 2016 Phys. Rev. Lett. 117 025001). Extensive analysis of the cryogenic target experiments and two- and three-dimensional simulations suggest that power balance, target offset, and target quality are the main limiting factors in target performance. In addition, cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) has been identified as the main mechanism reducing laser coupling. Reaching the goal of demonstrating hydrodynamic equivalence on OMEGA includes improving laser power balance, target position, and target quality at shot time. CBET must also be significantly reduced and several strategies have been identified to address this issue.

We report recent results of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectroscopy of highly charged heavy ions in plasmas produced in the Large Helical Device (LHD). The LHD is an ideal source of experimental databases of EUV spectra because of high brightness and low opacity, combined with the availability of pellet injection systems and reliable diagnostic tools. The measured heavy elements include tungsten, tin, lanthanides and bismuth, which are motivated by ITER as well as a variety of plasma applications such as EUV lithography and biological microscopy. The observed spectral features drastically change between quasicontinuum and discrete depending on the plasma temperature, which leads to some new experimental identifications of spectral lines. We have developed collisional-radiative models for some of these ions based on the measurements. The atomic number dependence of the spectral feature is also discussed.

Low-pressure plasmas can be used to inactivate bacterial spores and sterilize goods for medical and pharmaceutical applications. A crucial factor are damages induced by UV and VUV radiation emitted by the plasma. To analyze inactivation processes and protection strategies of spores, absorption spectra of two B. subtilis strains are measured. The results indicate, that the inner and outer coat of the spore significantly contribute to the absorption of UV-C and also of the VUV, protecting the spore against radiation based damages. As the sample preparation can significantly influence the absorption spectra due to salt residues, the cleaning procedure and sample deposition is tested for its reproducibility by measuring DNA oligomers and pUC18 plasmid DNA. The measurements are compared and discussed with results from the literature, showing a strong decrease of the salt content enabling the detection of absorption structures in the samples.

We describe a method for calculating the probability with which the wall of a plasma absorbs an electron at low energy. The method, based on an invariant embedding principle, expresses the electron absorption probability as the probability for transmission through the wall's long-range surface potential times the probability to stay inside the wall despite of internal backscattering. To illustrate the approach we apply it to a SiO₂ surface. Besides emission of optical phonons inside the wall we take elastic scattering at imperfections of the plasma-wall interface into account and obtain absorption probabilities significantly less than unity in accordance with available electron-beam scattering data but in disagreement with the widely used perfect absorber model.

Some recent studies of energetic particles in laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas are discussed, and a number of common themes identified. Such comparative studies can elucidate the underlying physical processes. For example microwave bursts observed during edge localised modes (ELMs) in the mega amp spherical tokamak (MAST) can be attributed to energetic electrons accelerated by parallel electric fields associated with the ELMs. The very large numbers of electrons known to be accelerated in solar flares must also arise from parallel electric fields, and the demonstration of energetic electron production during ELMs suggests close links at the kinetic level between ELMs and flares. Energetic particle studies in solar flares have focussed largely on electrons rather than ions, since bremsstrahlung from deka-keV electrons provides the best available explanation of flare hard x-ray emission. However ion acceleration (but not electron acceleration) has been observed during merging startup of plasmas in MAST with dimensionless parameters similar to those of the solar corona during flares. Recent measurements in the Earth's radiation belts demonstrate clearly a direct link between ion cyclotron emission (ICE) and fast particle population inversion, supporting the hypothesis that ICE in tokamaks is driven by fast particle distributions of this type. Shear Alfvén waves in plasmas with beta less than the electron to ion mass ratio have a parallel electric field that, in the solar corona, could accelerate electrons to hard x-ray-emitting energies; an extension of this calculation to plasmas with Alfvén speed arbitrarily close to the speed of light suggests that the mechanism could play a role in the production of cosmic ray electrons.

The fusion alpha and beam ion with steady-state power loads in all four main operating scenarios of ITER have been evaluated by the ASCOT code. For this purpose, high-fidelity magnetic backgrounds were reconstructed, taking into account even the internal structure of the ferritic inserts and tritium breeding modules (TBM). The beam ions were found to be almost perfectly confined in all scenarios, and only the so-called hybrid scenario featured alpha loads reaching 0.5 MW due to its more triangular plasma. The TBMs were not found to jeopardize the alpha confinement, nor cause any hot spots. Including plasma response did not bring dramatic changes to the load. The ELM control coils (ECC) were simulated in the baseline scenario and found to seriously deteriorate even the beam confinement. However, the edge perturbation in this case is so large that the sources have to be re-evaluated with plasma profiles that take into account the ECC perturbation.

Three dimensionless scans in the normalized Larmor radius ρ^*, normalized collisionality ν^* and normalized plasma pressure β have been performed in JET with the ITER-like wall (JET-ILW).

The normalized energy confinement and the thermal diffusivity exhibit a scaling with ρ^* consistent with the earlier results obtained in the carbon wall JET (JET-C) and with a gyro-Bohm scaling. In the pedestal, experimental results show that the stability is not dependent on ρ^*, qualitatively in agreement with the peeling–ballooning (P–B) model.

The ν^* dimensionless scaling shows that JET-ILW normalized confinement has a stronger dependence on collisionality than JET-C. This leads to a reduction of the difference in the confinement between JET-ILW and JET-C to  ≈10% at low ν^*. The pedestal stability shows an improvement with decreasing ν^*. This is ascribed to the increase of the bootstrap current, to the reduction of the pedestal width and to the reduction of the relative shift between pedestal density and temperature position.

The β dimensionless scan shows that, at low collisionality, JET-ILW normalized confinement has no clear dependence with β, in agreement with part of the earlier scalings. At high collisionality, a reduction of the normalized confinement with increasing β is observed. This behaviour is driven mainly by the pedestal where the stability is reduced with increasing β. The P–B analysis shows that the stability reduction with increasing β at high ν^* is due to the destabilizing effect of the increased relative shift.

The generation of high-quality relativistic positron beams is a central area of research in experimental physics, due to their potential relevance in a wide range of scientific and engineering areas, ranging from fundamental science to practical applications. There is now growing interest in developing hybrid machines that will combine plasma-based acceleration techniques with more conventional radio-frequency accelerators, in order to minimise the size and cost of these machines. Here we report on recent experiments on laser-driven generation of high-quality positron beams using a relatively low energy and potentially table-top laser system. The results obtained indicate that current technology allows to create, in a compact setup, positron beams suitable for injection in radio-frequency accelerators.

Whistler mode chorus emissions with a characteristic frequency chirp are important magnetospheric waves, responsible for the acceleration of outer radiation belt electrons to relativistic energies and also for the scattering loss of these electrons into the atmosphere. A laboratory experiment (Van Compernolle et al 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114245002, An et al 2016 Geophys. Res. Lett.) in the large plasma device at UCLA was designed to closely mimic the scaled plasma parameters observed in the inner magnetosphere, and shed light on the excitation of discrete frequency whistler waves. It was observed that a rich variety of whistler wave emissions is excited by a gyrating electron beam. The properties of the whistler emissions depend strongly on plasma density, beam density and magnetic field profiles.

Experimental evidence for the impact of a region of high density localised in the high-field side scrape-off layer (the HFSHD) on plasma confinement is shown in various dedicated experiments on ASDEX Upgrade (AUG). Increasing main ion fuelling is shown to increase the separatrix density and shift the density profile outwards. Predictive pedestal modelling of this shift indicates a 25% decrease in the attainable pedestal top pressure, which compares well with experimental observations in the gas scan.

Since the HFSHD can be mitigated by applying nitrogen seeding, a combined scan in fuelling rate, heating power, and nitrogen seeding is presented. Significant increases in the achievable pedestal top pressure are observed with seeding, in particular at high heating powers, and are correlated with inward shifted density profiles and a reduction of the HFSHD and separatrix density. Interpretive linear stability analysis also confirms the impact of a radially shifted pressure profile on peeling-ballooning stability, with an inward shift allowing access to higher pressure gradients and pedestal widths.

The optimized, superconducting stellarator Wendelstein 7-X went into operation and delivered first measurement data after 15 years of construction and one year commissioning. Errors in the magnet assembly were confirmend to be small. Plasma operation was started with 5 MW electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power and five inboard limiters. Core plasma values of ${{T}_{\text{e}}}>8$ keV, ${{T}_{\text{i}}}>2$ keV at line-integrated densities $n\approx 3\centerdot {{10}^{19}}~{{\text{m}}^{-2}}$ were achieved, exceeding the original expectations by about a factor of two. Indications for a core-electron-root were found. The energy confinement times are in line with the international stellarator scaling, despite unfavourable wall conditions, i.e. large areas of metal surfaces and particle sources from the limiter close to the plasma volume. Well controlled shorter hydrogen discharges at higher power (4 MW ECRH power for 1 s) and longer discharges at lower power (0.7 MW ECRH power for 6 s) could be routinely established after proper wall conditioning. The fairly large set of diagnostic systems running in the end of the 10 weeks operation campaign provided first insights into expected and unexpected physics of optimized stellarators.

Reconnection outflows are highly energetic directed flows that interact with the ambient plasma or with flows from other reconnection regions. Under these conditions the flow becomes highly unstable and chaotic, as any flow jets interacting with a medium. We report here massively parallel simulations of the two cases of interaction between outflow jets and between a single outflow with an ambient plasma. We find in both case the development of a chaotic magnetic field, subject to secondary reconnection events that further complicate the topology of the field lines. The focus of the present analysis is on the energy balance. We compute each energy channel (electromagnetic, bulk, thermal, for each species) and find where the most energy is exchanged and in what form. The main finding is that the largest energy exchange is not at the reconnection site proper but in the regions where the outflowing jets are destabilized.

The electric field is a quantity of particular relevance in plasma physics. Indeed, its fluctuations are responsible for different macroscopic phenomena such as anomalous transport in fusion plasmas. Answering a long-standing challenge, we offer a new method to locally and non-intrusively measure weak electric fields and their fluctuations in plasmas, by means of a beam of hydrogen ions or atoms. We present measurements of the electric field in vacuum and in a plasma where Debye shielding is measured. For the first time, we have used the Lamb-shift resonance to measure oscillating electric fields around 1 GHz and observed the strong enhancement of the Lyman-α signal. The measurement is both direct and non-intrusive. This method provides sensitivity (mV cm⁻¹) and temporal resolution (ns) that are three orders higher compared to current diagnostics. It thus allows measuring fluctuations of the electric field at scales not previously reached experimentally.

This paper reviews scientific results from the pursuit of indirect drive ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and describes the program's forward looking research directions. In indirect drive on the NIF, laser beams heat an x-ray enclosure called a hohlraum that surrounds a spherical pellet. X-ray radiation ablates the surface of the pellet, imploding a thin shell of deuterium/tritium (DT) that must accelerate to high velocity (v  >  350 km s⁻¹) and compress by a factor of several thousand. Since 2009, substantial progress has been made in understanding the major challenges to ignition: Rayleigh Taylor (RT) instability seeded by target imperfections; and low-mode asymmetries in the hohlraum x-ray drive, exacerbated by laser-plasma instabilities (LPI). Requirements on velocity, symmetry, and compression have been demonstrated separately on the NIF but have not been achieved simultaneously. We now know that the RT instability, seeded mainly by the capsule support tent, severely degraded DT implosions from 2009–2012. Experiments using a 'high-foot' drive with demonstrated lower RT growth improved the thermonuclear yield by a factor of 10, resulting in yield amplification due to alpha particle heating by more than a factor of 2. However, large time dependent drive asymmetry in the LPI-dominated hohlraums remains unchanged, preventing further improvements. High fidelity 3D hydrodynamic calculations explain these results. Future research efforts focus on improved capsule mounting techniques and on hohlraums with little LPI and controllable symmetry. In parallel, we are pursuing improvements to the basic physics models used in the design codes through focused physics experiments.

A comparison of the ASDEX Upgrade 3-strap ICRF antenna data with the linear electro-magnetic TOPICA calculations is presented. The comparison substantiates a reduction of the local electric field at the radially protruding plasma-facing elements of the antenna as a relevant approach for minimizing tungsten (W) sputtering in conditions when the slow wave is strongly evanescent. The measured reaction of the time-averaged RF current at the antenna limiters to the antenna feeding variations is less sensitive than predicted by the calculations. This is likely to have been caused by temporal and spatial fluctuations in the 3D plasma density distribution affected by local non-linear interactions. The 3-strap antenna with the W-coated limiters produces drastically less W sputtering compared to the W-coated 2-strap antennas. This is consistent with the non-linear asymptotic SSWICH-SW calculations for RF sheaths.

A strong modelling program has been started in support of the future JET-DT campaign with the aim of guiding experiments in deuterium (D) towards maximizing fusion energy production in Deuterium–Tritium (DT). Some of the key elements have been identified by using several of the most updated and sophisticated models for predicting heat and particle transport, pedestal pressure and heating sources in an integrated modelling framework. For the high beta and low gas operational regime, the density plays a critical role and a trend towards higher fusion power is obtained at lower densities. Additionally, turbulence stabilization by E  ×  B flow shear is shown to generate an isotope effect leading to higher confinement for DT than DD and therefore plasmas with high torque are suitable for maximizing fusion performance. Future JET campaigns will benefit from this modelling activity by defining clear priorities on their scientific program.

The pair creation from the Breit–Wheeler process is one of the basic processes in the universe. Laser induced intense γ-ray sources will allow a direct observation of this process in the laboratory for the first time. In this paper we demonstrate the effect of pair beaming in the collision of two photon beams which may facilitate the experimental observation of the Breit–Wheeler process.

Two-color filamenation in gases is known to produce intense and broadband THz radiation. There are two physical mechanisms responsible for the THz generation in this scheme: four-wave mixing and emission from the induced plasma currents. The case when the main and second harmonic are linearly polarized is well studied including the impact from each of the above mechanisms. However, for the cases when the two-color fields have complex polarization states the role of the four-wave mixing and plasma mechanisms in the formation of the THz polarization is still under-explored. Here we use both the four-wave mixing and photocurrent models in order to consider the THz generation by two-color fields with arbitrary polarizations. We show that under specific polarizations of the two-color field components it is possible to determine which of the mechanisms is responsible for the THz polarization formation.

In this article we show three quite different examples of low-temperature plasmas, where one can follow the connection of the elementary binary processes (occurring at the nanoscopic scale) to the macroscopic discharge behavior and to its application. The first example is on the nature of the higher-order transport coefficient (second-order diffusion or skewness); how it may be used to improve the modelling of plasmas and also on how it may be used to discern details of the relevant cross sections. A prerequisite for such modeling and use of transport data is that the hydrodynamic approximation is applicable. In the second example, we show the actual development of avalanches in a resistive plate chamber particle detector by conducting kinetic modelling (although it may also be achieved by using swarm data). The current and deposited charge waveforms may be predicted accurately showing temporal resolution, which allows us to optimize detectors by adjusting the gas mixture composition and external fields. Here kinetic modeling is necessary to establish high accuracy and the details of the physics that supports fluid models that allows us to follow the transition to streamers. Finally, we show an example of positron traps filled with gas that, for all practical purposes, are a weakly ionized gas akin to swarms, and may be modelled in that fashion. However, low pressures dictate the need to apply full kinetic modelling and use the energy distribution function to explain the kinetics of the system. In this way, it is possible to confirm a well established phenomenology, but in a manner that allows precise quantitative comparisons and description, and thus open doors to a possible optimization.

The hybrid scenario is a candidate for stationary high-fusion gain tokamak operation in ITER and DEMO. To obtain such performance, the energy confinement and the normalized pressure ${{\beta}_{N}}$ must be maximized, which requires operating near or above ideal MHD no-wall limits. New experimental findings show how these limits can affect hybrid operation. Even if hybrids are mainly limited by tearing modes, proximity to the no-wall limit leads to 3D field amplification that affects plasma profiles, e.g. rotation braking is observed in ASDEX Upgrade throughout the plasma and peaks in the core. As a result, even the small ASDEX Upgrade error fields are amplified and their effects become visible. To quantify such effects, ASDEX Upgrade measured the response to 3D fields applied by $8\times 2$ non-axisymmetric coils as ${{\beta}_{N}}$ approaches the no-wall limit. The full n  =  1 response profile and poloidal structure were measured by a suite of diagnostics and compared with linear MHD simulations, revealing a characteristic feature of hybrids: the n  =  1 response is due to a global, marginally-stable n  =  1 kink characterized by a large m  =  1, n  =  1 core harmonic due to q_min being just above 1. A helical core distortion of a few cm forms and affects various core quantities, including plasma rotation, electron and ion temperature, and intrinsic W density. In similar experiments, DIII-D also measured the effect of this helical core on the internal current profile, providing information useful to understanding of the physics of magnetic flux pumping, i.e. anomalous current redistribution by MHD modes that keeps ${{q}_{\text{min}}}>1$. Thanks to flux pumping, a broad current profile is maintained in DIII-D even with large on-axis current drive, enabling fully non-inductive operation at high ${{\beta}_{N}}$ up to 3.5–4.

The combination of powerful optical lasers and an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) provides unique capabilities to study the transient behaviour of matter in extreme conditions. The high energy density science instrument (HED instrument) at the European XFEL will provide the experimental platform on which an unique x-ray source can be combined with various types of high-power optical lasers. In this paper, we highlight selected scientific examples together with the associated x-ray techniques, with particular emphasis on femtosecond (fs)-timescale pump–probe experiments. Subsequently, we present the current design status of the HED instrument, outlining how the experiments could be performed. First user experiments will start at the beginning of 2018, after which various optical lasers will be commissioned and made available to the international scientific community.

The paper examines the prospects of using laser plasmas for studying novel regimes of the magnetic field line reconnection and charged particle acceleration. Basic features of plasma dynamics in the three-dimensional configurations relevant to the formation of current sheets in a plasma are addressed by analyzing exact self-similar solutions of the magneto-hydrodynamics and electron magneto-hydrodynamics equations. Then the magnetic field annihilation in the ultrarelativistic limit is considered, when the opposite polarity magnetic field is generated in collisionless plasma by multiple laser pulses, in the regime with a dominant contribution of the displacement current exciting a strong large-scale electric field. This field leads to the conversion of the magnetic energy into the kinetic energy of accelerated particles inside a thin current sheet. Charged particle acceleration during magnetic field reconnection is discussed when radiation friction and quantum electrodynamics effects become dominant.

In recent experiments of the HL-2A tokamak, the effect on the pedestal dynamics by the plasma fuelling with supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) has been intensively investigated. Experimental results in several tokamaks suggested that SMBI is a promising technique for ELM mitigation. In addition to the fuelling, the impact of impurities on the pedestal dynamics and instabilities has been investigated in HL-2A. Experimental results have shown that during the H-mode phase, a broadband electromagnetic (EM) turbulence was driven by peaked impurity density profile at the edge plasma region, and governed by double critical gradients of the impurity density. The absolute value of the threshold in positive gradient region is much lower than that in the negative region. This strong asymmetry in the critical gradients has been predicted by theoretical simulation. The results reveal that pedestal dynamics and heat loads can be actively controlled by exciting or changing pedestal instabilities.

Plasma medicine means the direct application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on or in the human body for therapeutic purposes. Further, the field interacts strongly with results gained for biological decontamination. Experimental research as well as first practical application is realized using two basic principles of CAP sources: dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) and atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ). Originating from the fundamental insights that the biological effects of CAP are most probably caused by changes of the liquid environment of cells, and are dominated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS), basic mechanisms of biological plasma activity are identified. It was demonstrated that there is no increased risk of cold plasma application and, above all, there are no indications for genotoxic effects. The most important biological effects of cold atmospheric pressure plasma were identified: (1) inactivation of a broad spectrum of microorganisms including multidrug resistant ones; (2) stimulation of cell proliferation and tissue regeneration with lower plasma treatment intensity (treatment time); (3) inactivation of cells by initialization of programmed cell death (apoptosis) with higher plasma treatment intensity (treatment time). In recent years, the main focus of clinical applications was in the field of wound healing and treatment of infective skin diseases. First CAP sources are CE-certified as medical devices now which is the main precondition to start the introduction of plasma medicine into clinical reality. Plasma application in dentistry and, above all, CAP use for cancer treatment are becoming more and more important research fields in plasma medicine. A further in-depth knowledge of control and adaptation of plasma parameters and plasma geometries is needed to obtain suitable and reliable plasma sources for the different therapeutic indications and to open up new fields of medical application.

The effect of magnetic perturbations (MPs) on the sawtoothing dynamics of the internal kink mode in the tokamak is discussed in the framework of nonlinear 3D MHD modelling. Numerical simulations are performed with the pixie3d code (Chacón 2008 Phys. Plasmas15 056103) based on a D-shaped configuration in toroidal geometry. MPs are applied as produced by two sets of coils distributed along the toroidal direction, one set located above and the other set below the outboard midplane, like in experimental devices such as DIII-D and ASDEX Upgrade. The capability of n  =  1 MPs to affect quasi-periodic sawteeth is shown to depend on the toroidal phase difference $\Delta \phi$ between the perturbations produced by the two sets of coils. In particular, sawtooth mitigation is obtained for the $\Delta \phi =\pi$ phasing, whereas no significant effect is observed for $\Delta \phi =0$. Numerical findings are explained by the interplay between different poloidal harmonics in the spectrum of applied MPs, and appear to be consistent with experiments performed in the DIII-D device. Sawtooth mitigation and stimulation of self-organized helical states by applied MPs have been previously demonstrated in both circular tokamak and reversed-field pinch (RFP) experiments in the RFX-mod device, and in related 3D MHD modelling.

The hydrodynamic flow generated by rippled shocks and rarefactions (Richtmyer–Meshkov like flows) is presented. When a corrugated shock travels inside an homogeneous fluid, it leaves pressure, density and velocity perturbations in the compressed fluid. The velocity perturbations generated in the composed fluid are inherently rotational. Vorticity is an important quantity in order to determine the asymptotic rate of growth in the linear stage. The size of the strongest vortices generated by the rippled shocks is analyzed as a function of the shock Mach number for different boundary conditions downstream. Comparison to experiments and simulations is provided for the RMI in the shock and rarefaction reflected cases and the validity of the growth law ${{\psi}_{\infty}}+\delta v_{i}^{\infty}t$ is emphasized.

Carbon-based thin films deposited on surfaces exposed to a typical capacitively-coupled RF plasma are sources of molecular precursors at the origin of nanoparticle growth. This growth leads to drastic changes of the plasma characteristics. Thus, a precise understanding of the dusty plasma structure and dynamics is required to control the plasma evolution and the nanoparticle growth. Optical diagnostics can reveal some particular features occurring in these kinds of plasmas. High-speed imaging of the plasma glow shows that instabilities induced by nanoparticle growth can be constituted of small brighter plasma regions (plasmoids) that rotate around the electrodes. A single bigger region of enhanced emission is also of particular interest: the void, a main central dust-free region, has very distinct plasma properties than the surrounding dusty region. This particularity is emphasized using optical emission spectroscopy with spatiotemporal resolution. Emission profiles are obtained for the buffer gas and the carbonaceous molecules giving insights on the changes of the electron energy distribution function during dust particle growth. Dense clouds of nanoparticles are shown to be easily formed from two different thin films, one constituted of polymer and the other one created by the plasma decomposition of ethanol.

A time-dependent self-consistent model based on the coupling of the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) with the non-equilibrium vibrational kinetics of the asymmetric mode, as well as a simplified global model, have been implemented for a pure CO₂ plasma. The simplified time-dependent global model takes into account dissociation and ionization as well as the reverse of these processes. It also takes into account the excitation/de-excitation of an electronic excited state at 10.5 eV. The model has been applied to describe the discharge and post-discharge conditions typically met in an atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and in a moderate-pressure microwave discharge. The reported results show the strong coupling between the excited state and the electron energy distribution kinetics due to superelastic (vibrational and electronic) collisions. Moreover, the dissociation rate from a pure vibrational mechanism can become competitive with the corresponding rate from the direct electron impact mechanism at high values of vibrational temperature.

The transverse dynamics of a magnetized pure electron plasma confined in a Penning–Malmberg trap is analogous to that of a two-dimensional (2D) ideal fluid. The dynamics of a system in a regime of external forcing due to the application of time-dependent potentials on different azimuthal sectors of the confining circular wall is studied numerically by means of 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The evolution of turbulence starting from an annular initial density distribution is investigated for different kinds and parameters of forcing by means of wavelet-based multiresolution analysis. From an experimental point of view, the analyzed forcing technique is useful to excite or damp different diocotron perturbations and therefore for the control and manipulation of plasma evolution. Nonetheless, the numerical results indicate that even in a weak forcing regime the system evolution is sensitive to small initial density fluctuations.

Based on experimental observations using the TUMAN-3M and FT-2 tokamaks, and the results of gyrokinetic modeling of the interplay between turbulence and the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) in these installations, a simple model is proposed for the analysis of the conditions required for L–H transition triggering by a burst of radial electric field oscillations in a tokamak. In the framework of this model, one-dimensional density evolution is considered to be governed by an anomalous diffusion coefficient dependent on radial electric field shear. The radial electric field is taken as the sum of the oscillating term and the quasi-stationary one determined by density and ion temperature gradients through a neoclassical formula. If the oscillating field parameters (amplitude, frequency, etc) are properly adjusted, a transport barrier forms at the plasma periphery and sustains after the oscillations are switched off, manifesting a transition into the high confinement mode with a strong inhomogeneous radial electric field and suppressed transport at the plasma edge. The electric field oscillation parameters required for L–H transition triggering are compared with the GAM parameters observed at the TUMAN-3M (in the discharges with ohmic L–H transition) and FT-2 tokamaks (where no clear L–H transition was observed). It is concluded based on this comparison that the GAM may act as a trigger for the L–H transition, provided that certain conditions for GAM oscillation and tokamak discharge are met.

Solar photosphere and chromosphere are composed of weakly ionized plasma for which collisional coupling decreases with height. This implies a breakdown of some hypotheses underlying magnetohydrodynamics at low altitudes and gives rise to non-ideal MHD effects such as ambipolar diffusion, Hall effect, etc. Recently, there has been progress in understanding the role of these effects for the dynamics and energetics of the solar atmosphere. There are evidences that phenomena such as wave propagation and damping, magnetic reconnection, formation of stable magnetic field concentrations, magnetic flux emergence, etc can be affected. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art of multi-fluid MHD modeling of the coupled solar atmosphere.

The development of tabletop intense terahertz (THz) radiation sources is extremely important for THz science and applications. This paper presents our measurements of intense THz radiation from relativistic laser–plasma interactions under different experimental conditions. Several THz generation mechanisms have been proposed and investigated, including coherent transition radiation (CTR) emitted by fast electrons from the target rear surface, transient current radiation at the front of the target, and mode conversion from electron plasma waves (EPWs) to THz waves. The results indicate that relativistic laser plasma is a promising driver of intense THz radiation sources.

We present an analytical and numerical study of multiple-laser QED cascades induced with linearly polarised laser pulses. We analyse different polarisation orientations and propose a configuration that maximises cascade multiplicity and favours laser absorption. We generalise the analytical estimate for the cascade growth rate previously calculated in the field of two colliding linearly polarised laser pulses and account for multiple laser interaction. The estimate is verified by a comprehensive numerical study of four-laser QED cascades across a range of different laser intensities with QED PIC module of OSIRIS. We show that by using four linearly polarised 30 fs laser pulses, one can convert more than 50% of the total energy to gamma-rays at laser intensity $I\simeq {{10}^{24}}~\text{W}~\text{c}{{\text{m}}^{-2}}$. In this configuration, the laser conversion efficiency is higher compared with the case with two colliding lasers.

Partially-magnetized plasmas with magnetized electrons and non-magnetized ions are common in Hall thrusters for electric propulsion and magnetron material processing devices. These plasmas are usually in strongly non-equilibrium state due to presence of crossed electric and magnetic fields, inhomogeneities of plasma density, temperature, magnetic field and beams of accelerated ions. Free energy from these sources make such plasmas prone to various instabilities resulting in turbulence, anomalous transport, and appearance of coherent structures as found in experiments. This paper provides an overview of instabilities that exist in such plasmas. A nonlinear fluid model has been developed for description of the Simon-Hoh, lower-hybrid and ion-sound instabilities. The model also incorporates electron gyroviscosity describing the effects of finite electron temperature. The nonlinear fluid model has been implemented in the BOUT++ framework. The results of nonlinear simulations are presented demonstrating turbulence, anomalous current and tendency toward the formation of coherent structures.

Plasma metamaterials, composites of low-temperature plasmas and periodic functional microstructures, work as cloaking and nonlinear media. Due to functions of the microstructures like negative permeability, electromagnetic waves in and around plasma metamaterials propagate in a quite different manner from the case with the conventional space in which relative permeability is positive and unity. Using plasmas and plasma metamaterials, we achieve various controls of microwave propagating paths such as unidirectionality and cloaking in the two- or 3D spaces. For instance, a concentric plasma layer makes wave propagation unidirectional, and waves propagate in different routes when they start inside or outside the concentric layer. Furthermore, due to spatial permittivity gradient and anisotropic refractive index, electromagnetic waves detour in plasma metamaterial layers. Another significant point that plasma metamaterials can realize is nonlinearity. When we study high-power electromagnetic waves propagating in them, we observe several properties describable in terms of nonlinear dynamics and nonlinear photonics. Microwaves beyond threshold energy trigger bifurcations in plasma permittivity, and the second harmonic wave detected simultaneously is generated with strong emission levels. Such electromagnetic wave propagation is achieved with advantages over other materials, since plasmas and metallic microstructures work in harmony and in synergy.

In this review we give an overview of the recent work on quantum kinetic theories of plasmas. We focus, in particular, on the case where the electrons are fully degenerate. For such systems, perturbation methods using the distribution function can be problematic. Instead we present a model that considers the dynamics of the Fermi surface. The advantage of this model is that, even though the value of the distribution function can be greatly perturbed outside the equilibrium Fermi surface, deformation of the Fermi surface is small up to very large amplitudes. Next, we investigate the short-scale dynamics for which the Wigner–Moyal equation replaces the Vlasov equation. In particular, we study wave–particle interaction, and deduce that new types of wave damping can occur due to the simultaneous absorption (or emission) of multiple wave quanta. Finally, we consider exchange effects within a quantum kinetic formalism to find a model that is more accurate than those using exchange potentials from density functional theory. We deduce the exchange corrections to the dispersion relations for Langmuir and ion-acoustic waves. In comparison to results based on exchange potentials deduced from density functional theory we find that the latter models are reasonably accurate for Langmuir waves, but rather inaccurate for ion acoustic waves.

We present an overview of FTU experiments on runaway electron (RE) generation and control carried out through a comprehensive set of real-time (RT) diagnostics/control systems and newly installed RE diagnostics. An RE imaging spectrometer system detects visible and infrared synchrotron radiation. A Cherenkov probe measures RE escaping the plasma. A gamma camera provides hard x-ray radial profiles from RE bremsstrahlung interactions in the plasma. Experiments on the onset and suppression of RE show that the threshold electric field for RE generation is larger than that expected according to a purely collisional theory, but consistent with an increase due to synchrotron radiation losses. This might imply a lower density to be targeted with massive gas injection for RE suppression in ITER. Experiments on active control of disruption-generated RE have been performed through feedback on poloidal coils by implementing an RT boundary-reconstruction algorithm evaluated on magnetic moments. The results indicate that the slow plasma current ramp-down and the simultaneous reduction of the reference plasma external radius are beneficial in dissipating the RE beam energy and population, leading to reduced RE interactions with plasma facing components. RE active control is therefore suggested as a possible alternative or complementary technique to massive gas injection.

To enhance the core heating efficiency in fast ignition laser fusion, the concept of relativistic electron beam guiding by external magnetic fields was evaluated by integrated simulations for FIREX class targets. For the cone-attached shell target case, the core heating performance deteriorates by applying magnetic fields since the core is considerably deformed and most of the fast electrons are reflected due to the magnetic mirror formed through the implosion. On the other hand, in the case of a cone-attached solid ball target, the implosion is more stable under the kilo-tesla-class magnetic field. In addition, feasible magnetic field configuration is formed through the implosion. As a result, the core heating efficiency doubles by magnetic guiding. The dependence of core heating properties on the heating pulse shot timing was also investigated for the solid ball target.

The most recent experiments of disruption mitigation by massive gas injection in ASDEX Upgrade have concentrated on small—relatively to the past—quantities of noble gas injected, and on the search for the minimum amount of gas necessary for the mitigation of the thermal loads on the divertor and for a significant reduction of the vertical force during the current quench. A scenario for the generation of a long-lived runaway electron beam has been established; this allows the study of runaway current dissipation by moderate quantities of argon injected. This paper presents these recent results and discusses them in the more general context of physical models and extrapolation, and of the open questions, relevant for the realization of the ITER disruption mitigation system.

The ELM wetted area is a key factor in the peak power load during an ELM, as it sets the region over which the ELM energy is deposited. The deposited heat flux at the target is seen to have striations in the profiles that are generated by the arrival of filaments ejected from the confined plasma. The effect of the filaments arriving at the target on the ELM wetted area, and the relation to the midplane mode number is investigated in this paper using infrared (IR) thermography and high speed visible imaging (>10 kHz). Type I ELMs are analysed, as these have the largest heat fluxes and are observed to have toroidal mode numbers of between 5 and 15. The IR profiles during the ELMs show clear filamentary structures that evolve during the ELM cycle. An increasing number of striations at the target is seen to correspond to an increase in the wetted area. Analysis shows that the ratio of the ELM wetted area to the inter-ELM wetted area, a key parameter for ITER, for the type I ELMs is between 3 and 6 for lower single null plasmas and varies with the ELM midplane mode number, as determined by visible measurements. Monte-Carlo modelling of the ELMs is used to understand the variation seen in the wetted area and the effect of an increased mode number; the modelling replicates the trends seen in the experimental data and supports the observation of increased toroidal mode number generating larger target ELM wetted areas. ITER is thought to be peeling unstable which would imply a lower ELM mode number compared to MAST which is peeling–ballooning unstable. The results of this analysis suggest that the lower n peeling unstable ELMs expected for ITER will have smaller wetted areas than peeling–ballooning unstable ELMs. A smaller wetted area will increase the level of ELM control required, therefore a key prediction required for ITER is the expected ELM mode number.

Solar eruptions are often driven by magnetohydrodynamic instabilities such as the torus and kink instabilities that act on line-tied magnetic flux ropes. Recent laboratory experiments designed to study these eruptive instabilities have demonstrated the key role of both dynamic (Myers et al 2015 Nature528 526) and quasi-static (Myers et al 2016 Phys. Plasmas23 112102) magnetic tension forces in contributing to the equilibrium and stability of line-tied magnetic flux ropes. In this paper, we synthesize these laboratory results and explore the relationship between the dynamic and quasi-static tension forces. While the quasi-static tension force is found to contribute to the flux rope equilibrium in a number of regimes, the dynamic tension force is substantial mostly in the so-called failed torus regime where magnetic self-organization events prevent the flux rope from erupting.

The interaction of externally applied small non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations (MP) with tokamak high-confinement mode (H-mode) plasmas is reviewed and illustrated by recent experiments in ASDEX Upgrade. The plasma response to the vacuum MP field is amplified by stable ideal kink modes with low toroidal mode number n driven by the H-mode edge pressure gradient (and associated bootstrap current) which is experimentally evidenced by an observable shift of the poloidal mode number m away from field alignment (m  =  qn, with q being the safety factor) at the response maximum. A torque scan experiment demonstrates the importance of the perpendicular electron flow for shielding of the resonant magnetic perturbation, as expected from a two-fluid MHD picture. Two significant effects of MP occur in H-mode plasmas at low pedestal collisionality, $\nu _{\text{ped}}^{\ast}\leqslant 0.4$: (a) a reduction of the global plasma density by up to $61 \%$ and (b) a reduction of the energy loss associated with edge localised modes (ELMs) by a factor of up to 9. A comprehensive database of ELM mitigation pulses at low ${{\nu}^{\ast}}$ in ASDEX Upgrade shows that the degree of ELM mitigation correlates with the reduction of pedestal pressure which in turn is limited and defined by the onset of ELMs, i. e. a modification of the ELM stability limit by the magnetic perturbation.

A novel platform to measure the equation of state using a combination of diagnostics, where the spectrally resolved x-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) is used to obtain accurate temperature measurements of warm dense matter (WDM) was developed for the OMEGA laser facility. OMEGA laser beams have been used to drive strong shocks in carbon targets creating WDM and generating the Ni He-alpha x-ray probe used for XRTS. Additional diagnostics including x-ray radiography, velocity interferometry and streaked optical pyrometry provided complementary measurements of density and pressure. The WDM regime of near solid density and moderate temperatures (1–100 eV) is a challenging yet important area of research in inertial confinement fusion and astrophysics. This platform has been used to study off-Hugoniot states of shock-released diamond and graphite at pressures between 1 and 10 Mbar and temperatures between 5 and 15 eV as well as first x-ray Thomson scattering data from shocked low density CH foams reaching five times compression and temperatures of 20–30 eV.

The tokamak and the stellarator are the two main candidate concepts for magnetically confining fusion plasmas. The flexibility of the mid-size stellarator devices together with their unique diagnostic capabilities make them ideally suited to study the relation between magnetic topology, electric fields and transport. This paper addresses advances in the understanding of plasma transport in mid-size stellarators with an emphasis on the physics of flows, transport control, impurity and particle transport and fast particles. The results described here emphasize an improved physics understanding of phenomena in stellarators that complements the empirical approach. Experiments in mid-size stellarators support the development of advanced plasma scenarios in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and, in concert with better physics understanding in tokamaks, may ultimately lead to an advance in the prediction of burning plasma behaviour.

Magnetic reconnection in laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas is often invoked to explain explosive energy release and particle acceleration. However, the timescales involved in classical models within the macroscopic MHD regime are far too slow to match the observations. Here we revisit the tearing instability by performing visco-resistive two-dimensional numerical simulations of the evolution of thin current sheets, for a variety of initial configurations and of values of the Lunquist number S, up to 10⁷. Results confirm that when the critical aspect ratio of S^1/3 is reached in the reconnecting current sheets, the instability proceeds on ideal (Alfvénic) macroscopic timescales, as required to explain observations. Moreover, the same scaling is seen to apply also to the local, secondary reconnection events triggered during the nonlinear phase of the tearing instability, thus accelerating the cascading process to increasingly smaller spatial and temporal scales. The process appears to be robust, as the predicted scaling is measured both in inviscid simulations and when using a Prandtl number P  =  1 in the viscous regime.