Quantum and classical measures of molecular ultracold plasma dynamics
Abstract
Atomic and molecular gases driven to produce ultracold plasmas defie a class of isolated system with important relevance to notions of collision and transport under strongly coupled conditions. The physics of strong coupling plays an important but incompletely understood role in the dynamics of natural plasmas over a wide range of length scales. Formed in states far from equilibrium, ultracold plasmas generally relax in a manner well described by collisional rate processes and hydrodynamics in a quasi-thermal regime of classical mechanics. However, during the current period of AFOSR research, we have found particular conditions under which a high-density ultracold plasma evolves from a cold molecular Rydberg gas of nitric oxide, bifurcates, adiabatically sequestering energy in a reservoir of global mass transport, and relaxes to from a strongly coupled plasma. The long lifetime of this plasma, particularly its stability with respect to recombination and neutral dissociation, suggest a robust process of self-organization to reach a state of arrested relaxation, far from conventional thermal equilibrium. We propose a comprehensive program with the principal aim of developing a fuller understanding of this system. New research will address the macroscopic properties of quenched ultracold plasma volumes, and develop quantum mechanical measures of persistent coherence. This will involve four major areas of effort.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2017
- Source ID
- FA95501710343
Entities
People
- Edward R. Grant
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of British Columbia