Ultrashort-Pulse Laser and Ultrafast-Gated ICCD for Generating and Measuring Strongly-Correlated Plasmas
Abstract
As energy is injected into matter it eventually reaches the plasma state where electrons are separated from ions. The importance of electrostatic interaction in a plasma is determined by the plasma parameter which is the ratio of electric potential energy to thermal potential energy. Space plasmas and Tokomaks are dilute and have <<1. Dense plasmas with >>1 appear in sonoluminescence, and sparks and laser breakdown in dense gases. In laser breakdown initiated with an ultrashort flash of light a neutral gas made of hydrogen at 10atm transforms into a dense plasma with a temperature of 35,000K (and an internal pressure >3000atm), which to our surprise did not explode but instead held together and dwelled at its initial radius for more than 200 picoseconds. We propose that dwelling is due to the formation of a highly correlated plasma 70 which causes the hot gas to behave like a fluid with a tensile strength. In order to probe the physicalproperties of these plasmas and in order to reach around 150 where the plasma is predictedto behave like a crystal, we need to reliably generate breakdown in gas at pressures of around 50atm and to penetrate these gases with far UV light on femtosecond time scales. Such capabilities are provided by the proposed 7mJ femtosecond laser system. In order to acquire fast images of dense plasma sparks and breakdown we also propose to acquire an intensied CCD with a 500ps shutter. Advances in the basic science of dense plasmas have consequences for o equilibrium transport and novel routes to nuclear fusion. This research instrumentation proposal is intended to be synergistic with the AFOSR project on strongly-correlated plasmas (Measurements and Applications of Strongly-Correlated Plasmas Generated in Dense Noble Gases," AFOSR FA9550-16-1-0271, Principal Investigator Seth Putterman).
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 28, 2017
- Source ID
- FA95501710275
Entities
People
- Seth Putterman
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, Los Angeles