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Calculations of line broadening are important for many different applications including plasma diagnostics and opacity calculations. One concern is that line-shape models employ many approximations that are not experimentally validated for most element conditions due to challenges with high-fidelity line-shape benchmark experiments. Until such experiments become available, we need to test approximations with ab-initio line-shape calculations. There are three primary formalisms to derive an electron-broadening operator: the impact theory (Baranger, Griem), relaxation theory (Fano), and kinetic theories (Zwanzig, Hussey), all of which give different expressions for electron broadening. The impact and relaxation theories approximate the density matrix as factorizeable while the kinetic theory has a more general density matrix. The impact and kinetic theories relate the electron broadening operator to collision amplitudes, while the relaxation theory has a more complicated formula using projection operators. Each theory has a different prediction for the width and shift of spectral lines, which will become apparent in strongly-coupled plasmas. We have made an effort to better understand the approximations and limitations of all of these approaches and to try to reconcile the differences between them. Here, we present the current status of our understanding of the electron-broadening theories and our preliminary attempt to unify the various formulae. Currently, we have found the projection operator to be necessary part of line broadening. We will be showing (for the first time) how the projection operator broadens spectral lines.
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Experimental and computational study of phase space dynamics in strongly coupled plasmas with steep density gradients
Understanding how plasmas thermalize when density gradients are steep remains a fundamental challenge in plasma physics, with direct implications for fusion experiments and astrophysical phenomena. Standard hydrodynamic models break down in these regimes, and kinetic theories make predictions that have never been directly tested. Here, we present the first detailed phase-space measurements of a strongly coupled plasma as it evolves from sharp density gradients to thermal equilibrium. Using laser-induced fluorescence imaging of an ultracold calcium plasma, we track the complete ion distribution function f(x,v,t). We discover that commonly used kinetic models (Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook and Lenard–Bernstein) overpredict thermalization rates, even while correctly capturing the initial counterstreaming plasma formation. Our measurements reveal that the initial ion acceleration response scales linearly with electron temperature, and that the simulations underpredict the initial ion response. In our geometry we demonstrate the formation of well-controlled counterpropagating plasma beams. This experimental platform enables precision tests of kinetic theories and opens new possibilities for studying plasma stopping power and flow-induced instabilities in strongly coupled systems.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2009999
- PAR ID:
- 10575457
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physics of Plasmas
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1070-664X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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