Running away and radiating (PLASMA)
Research Project, 2015 – 2020

Particle acceleration and radiation in plasmas has a wide variety of applications, ranging from cancer therapy and lightning initiation, to the improved design of fusion devices for large scale energy production. The goal of this project is to build a flexible ensemble of theoretical and numerical models that describes the acceleration processes and the resulting fast particle dynamics in two focus areas: magnetic fusion plasmas and laser-produced plasmas. This interdisciplinary approach is a new way of studying charged particle acceleration. It will lead to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions that characterise fast particle behaviour in plasmas. Plasmas are complex systems, with many kinds of interacting electromagnetic (EM) waves and charged particles. For such a system it is infeasible to build one model which captures both the small scale physics and the large scale phenomena. Therefore we aim to develop several complementary models, in one common framework, and make sure they agree in overlapping regions. The common framework will be built layer-by-layer, using models derived from first principles in a systematic way, with theory closely linked to numerics and validated by experimental observations. The key object of study is the evolution of the velocity-space particle distribution in time and space. The main challenge is the strong coupling between the distribution and the EM-field, which requires models with self-consistent coupling of Maxwell’s equations and kinetic equations. For the latter we will use Vlasov-Fokker-Planck solvers extended with advanced collision operators. Interesting aspects include non-Maxwellian distributions, instabilities, shock-wave formation and avalanches. The resulting theoretical framework and the corresponding code-suite will be a novel instrument for advanced studies of charged particle acceleration. Due to the generality of our approach, the applicability will reach far beyond the two focus areas.

Participants

Tünde Fülöp (contact)

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Ola Embréus

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Julien Ferri

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Linnea Hesslow

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Mathias Hoppe

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Klara Insulander Björk

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Albert Johansson

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Andréas Sundström

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Lucas Unnerfelt

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Oskar Vallhagen

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Longqing Yi

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics

Funding

European Commission (EC)

Project ID: EC/H2020/647121
Funding Chalmers participation during 2015–2020

Related Areas of Advance and Infrastructure

Sustainable development

Driving Forces

Energy

Areas of Advance

Basic sciences

Roots

Publications

More information

Latest update

9/2/2020 2