High Energy Density Plasma & Laser Physics
The study of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas is currently in the midst of a renaissance. In Astrophysics, new observations and computational techniques have revealed the ubiquity of non-linear plasma processes in environments as diverse as star-forming regions and the environments surrounding black holes. To properly account for the life-cycle of stars and galaxies, one must understand the origin and behavior of the magnetic fields that play a critical role in nearly all astrophysical flows. In the laboratory, the current generation of high-power lasers has opened a new window into high-energy-density plasma environments. Energy densities in excess of 1012 ergs/cm3, such as exist in the core of stars, are now accessible to laboratory studies. With the advent of the next generation of super lasers, controlled thermonuclear ignition has finally come within reach. Ignition will be attained by inertial confinement (ICF) of a hot dense plasma compressed by the super lasers over an interval of a few nanoseconds.
With the construction of the National Ignition Facility, a $1.5 billion, 1.8-MJ laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the field of high-energy-density physics (HEDP) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) will be among the leading research areas in physics. The University of Rochester (UR), with its 60-beam, 30-kJ OMEGA laser system housed in the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), is the world's leading academic institution in the field. The Omega system gives the UR unique access to high energy density plasma environments which no other University can offer. Current research in ICF involves laser-plasma interactions (Prof. Meyerhofer), hydrodynamic and plasma stability (Prof. Betti, Prof. McCrory) and theoretical plasma physics (Prof. Simon). In astrophysical plasma studies ongoing projects involve computational hydrodynamics and magneto-gasdynamics (Prof. Frank), dynamo theory and two-temperature plasmas (Prof. Blackman) and solar magnetohydrodynamics, solar dynamo theory, and the physics of sunspots (Prof. Thomas). The group is also interested in issues centered on radiation hydrodynamics, plasma turbulence and ambipolar diffusion. A new program in High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics makes use of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) lasers for investigations of cosmic environments. Increased collaborations between astrophysicsts and plasma scientists are essential for progress in this new field and together UR astro/plasma physicists and LLE scientists are pushing the frontiers of recreating the Univerese's most exotic phenomena.
The Department group in Plasma and Laser Physics is closely aligned with a larger University interdisciplinary program in High Energy Density Plasma Physics, involving additional faculty at both the LLE and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Student applicants to the Department who are interested in this area of research, should make specific mention of their interest in this program on their application form.
Plasma and Laser Physics Links
