| 1. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, et al.
(författare)
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Applicability of the Klein-Gordon equation for pair production in vacuum and plasma
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physical review. E. - : American Physical Society. - 2470-0045 .- 2470-0053. ; 108:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, a phase-space description of electron-positron pair-creation will be applied, based on a Wigner transformation of the Klein-Gordon equation. The resulting theory is similar in many respects to the equations from the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism. However, in the former case, all physics related to particle spin is neglected. In the present paper we compare the pair-production rate in vacuum and plasmas, with and without spin effects, in order to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the spinless approximation. It is found that for modest frequencies of the electromagnetic field, the pair production rate of the Klein-Gordon theory is a good approximation to the Dirac theory, provided the matter density is small enough for Pauli blocking to be neglected, and a factor of two related to the difference in the vacuum energy density is compensated for.
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| 2. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, et al.
(författare)
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Kinetic theory for spin-1/2 particles in ultrastrong magnetic fields
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Review E. Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics. - : American Physical Society. - 1539-3755 .- 1550-2376. ; 102:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When the Zecman energy approaches the characteristic kinetic energy of electrons, Landau quantization becomes important. In the vicinity of magnetars, the Zeeman energy can even be relativistic. We start from the Dirac equation and derive a kinetic equation for electrons, focusing on the phenomenon of Landau quantization in such ultrastrong but constant magnetic fields, neglecting short-scale quantum phenomena. It turns out that the usual relativistic gamma factor of the Vlasov equation is replaced by an energy operator, depending on the spin state, and also containing momentum derivatives. Furthermore, we show that the energy eigenstates in a magnetic field can be computed as eigenfunctions of this operator. The dispersion relation for electrostatic waves in a plasma is computed, and the significance of our results is discussed.
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| 3. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, et al.
(författare)
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Linear pair-creation damping of high-frequency plasma oscillation
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physics of Plasmas. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 29:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have studied the linear dispersion relation for Langmuir waves in plasmas of very high density, based on the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism. The vacuum contribution to the physical observables leads to ultraviolet divergences, which are removed by a charge renormalization. The remaining vacuum contribution is small and is in agreement with previously derived expressions for the time-dependent vacuum polarization. The main new feature of the theory is a damping mechanism similar to Landau damping, but where the plasmon energy gives rise to creation of electron-positron pairs. The dependence of the damping rate (pair-creation rate) on the wavenumber, temperature, and density is analyzed. Finally, the analytical results of linearized theory are compared with numerical solutions.
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| 4. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, 1993-
(författare)
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Modelling and analyzing strong-field effects in quantum plasma
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Under the extreme conditions that can be found around dense stars and in the accretion discs of black holes, several strong-field quantum phenomena dominate the dynamics of the plasma. This includes the creation of matter and anti-matter from the vacuum (Schwinger mechanism), radiation reaction and Landau quantization. Some of these strong field phenomena were presented theoretically a century ago but have never been verified in experiments due to the difficulty of creating the required extreme conditions in the lab. However, with the development of laser facilities in the past decades, it will be possible to observe several extreme physical phenomena in the near future. To conduct experiments on these extreme phenomena, theoretical simulations need to be constructed as a guide for optimizing experiments.This thesis is concerned with developing and analyzing strong field phenomena in kinetic plasma models. The focus is to extend current kinetic models to include several physical phenomena that are relevant to future experiments on laser-plasma interaction. In particular, a kinetic theory based on the Wigner transformation of the Dirac equation has been analyzed in different regimes. This kinetic model is used to study the plasma dynamics at the Schwinger limit, where collective plasma effects and several quantum processes are studied.
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| 5. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma dynamics and vacuum pair creation using the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physical review. E. - : American Physical Society. - 2470-0045 .- 2470-0053. ; 104:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We derive a system of coupled partial differential equations for the equal-time Wigner function in an arbitrary strong electromagnetic field using the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism. In the electrostatic limit, we present a system of four coupled partial differential equations, which are completed by Ampères law. This electrostatic system is further studied for two different cases. In the first case, we consider linearized wave propagation in a plasma accounting for the nonzero vacuum expectation values. We then derive the dispersion relation and compare it with well-known limiting cases. In the second case, we consider Schwinger pair production using the local density approximation to allow for analytical treatment. The dependence of the pair production rate on the perpendicular momentum is investigated and it turns out that the spread of the produced pairs along with perpendicular momentum depends on the strength of the applied electric field.
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| 6. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Ponderomotive force due to the intrinsic spin for electrostatic waves in a magnetized plasma
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physics of Plasmas. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 30:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the contribution from the electron spin to the ponderomotive force, using a quantum kinetic model, including the spin-orbit correction. Specifically, we derive an analytical expression for the ponderomotive force, applicable for electrostatic waves propagating parallel to an external magnetic field. To evaluate the expression, we focus on the case of Langmuir waves and on the case of the spin resonance wave mode, where the classical and spin contributions to the ponderomotive force are compared. Somewhat surprisingly, depending on the parameter regime, we find that the spin contribution to the ponderomotive force may dominate for the Langmuir wave, whereas the classical contribution can dominate for the spin resonance mode.
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| 7. |
- Al-Naseri, Haidar, et al.
(författare)
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Radiation reaction effects in relativistic plasmas : the electrostatic limit
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physical review. E. - : American Physical Society. - 2470-0045 .- 2470-0053. ; 107:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the evolution of electrostatic plasma waves, using the relativistic Vlasov equation extended by the Landau-Lifshitz radiation reaction, accounting for the back-reaction due to the emission of single particle Larmor radiation. In particular, the Langmuir wave damping is calculated as a function of wave number, initial temperature, and initial electric field amplitude. Moreover, the background distribution function loses energy in the process, and we calculate the cooling rate as a function of initial temperature and initial wave amplitude. Finally, we investigate how the relative magnitude of wave damping and background cooling varies with the initial parameters. In particular, it is found that the relative contribution to the energy loss associated with background cooling decreases slowly with the initial wave amplitude.
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| 8. |
- Anderson, D., et al.
(författare)
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Collapse of optical vacuum pulses due to QED nonlinearities
- 2002
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Ingår i: Nonlinear Guided Waves and Their Applications, 1–4 September 2002, Stresa, Italy. - : Optics Info Base, Optical Society of America. - 1557527237
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Due to quantum electrodynamical (QED) effects there are nonlinear corrections to Maxwell's equations in vacuum. We show that stationary two-dimensional light bullets can form, which are unstable and exhibit, the possibility of self-focusing collapse.
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| 9. |
- Asenjo, Felipe A., et al.
(författare)
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Semi-relativistic effects in spin-1/2 quantum plasmas
- 2012
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Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 14, s. 073042-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emerging possibilities for creating and studying novel plasma regimes, e. g. relativistic plasmas and dense systems, in a controlled laboratory environment also require new modeling tools for such systems. This motivates theoretical studies of the kinetic theory governing the dynamics of plasmas for which both relativistic and quantum effects occur simultaneously. Here, we investigate relativistic corrections to the Pauli Hamiltonian in the context of a scalar kinetic theory for spin-1/2 quantum plasmas. In particular, we formulate a quantum kinetic theory for the collective motion of electrons that takes into account effects such as spin-orbit coupling and Zitterbewegung. We discuss the implications and possible applications of our findings.
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| 10. |
- Bergman, Sofia, 1991-
(författare)
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Low-energy ions around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Low-energy ions play important roles in the formation of the plasma environment around a comet. Reliable ways of measuring these ions are therefore of high importance to fully understand the processes and dynamics of this environment. Unfortunately, low-energy ions are infamously difficult to detect. A spacecraft interacts with the surrounding environment, which leads to an accumulation of charge on the spacecraft surface. As a result, the surface acquires an electrostatic potential with respect to the surrounding plasma, which can be either positive or negative. Low-energy ions are then attracted to or repelled from the charged surface before being detected by the instrument on board, resulting in an energy shift and change of travel direction of the ions. The Rosetta mission studied comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the years 2014-2016, and provided the most detailed observations of a comet and its environment to date. The Ion Composition Analyzer of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC-ICA) measured positive ions in the cometary environment with energies down to just a few eV. The low-energy part of the data is, however, difficult to interpret due to the distortions caused by the spacecraft potential. In this thesis, the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software (SPIS) is used to correct the low-energy ion measurements made by RPC-ICA for the effects introduced by the spacecraft potential. The distortion of the effective field of view is modelled for different ion energies and plasma environments, and the results are used to correct the flow direction of low-energy ions around the comet. The FOV distortion can be considered insignificant when the energy of the ions (in eV) is twice the value of the spacecraft potential (in volts). The FOV distortion at lower energies is geometry dependent, and varies substantially between different pixels of the instrument. The FOV distortion is furthermore dependent on the Debye length of the surrounding plasma. The knowledge obtained from the simulations is subsequently used to study the flow direction of low-energy ions in and around the diamagnetic cavity, a region where the magnetic field is essentially zero and low-energy ions are important for the dynamics. Evidence of counter-streaming ions are found, with ions flowing both radially away from and back towards the nucleus. SPIS is also used to model the influence of the spacecraft potential on the energy spectrum of the ions, and from this the bulk speed and temperature of the low-energy ions in the diamagnetic cavity were determined to 5-10 km/s and 0.7-1.6 eV, respectively. The bulk speed is significantly above the speed of the neutral particles, indicating a weak coupling between ions and neutrals in the diamagnetic cavity.
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