Browse Physics

A major source of energy loss in laser-driven fusion could be remedied with the use of optical elements called zooming-phase plates.

A new model shows that the nonuniform heating of ions in the solar wind may be explained by resonant interactions with a particular type of plasma wave.

Lasers produce a beam of neutrons intense enough for practical experiments, extending the reach of neutron sources to small-scale laboratories.

Relativistic electrons passing through a laser-produced plasma map out magnetic fields that move at nearly the speed of light.

Confirmation that interacting magnetic plasma waves can generate “daughter” waves of a higher frequency supports the current picture of how turbulence leads to heat in astrophysical plasma.

Simulations show that controlled beating of multiple laser frequencies optimizes energy delivery to inertial fusion targets.

A proposed explanation for puzzling features on the Moon involving small-scale magnetic fields has now been verified with a scaled-down version in the lab.

A laboratory analog of solar plasma offers a new tool in the search for the origin of coronal heating.

Experimental measurements with an x-ray laser test models of how ions behave in plasmas, like those found in stars and laser fusion research.

Focusing a beam of light on a slit reveals details of its polarization with surprising sensitivity.

The next generation of ultrahigh energy lasers will be able to produce extremely dense electron-positron plasmas and intense bursts of gamma rays, according to simulations, and both will lead to new types of experiments.

Plasmas can be made transparent to electromagnetic waves with the application of external magnetic fields.

Experiments show that magnetic waves in a plasma may be effective at controlling energetic electrons.

Radar data confirm that an important mechanism for turbulence in Earth’s auroral plasma can occur naturally.

Dense plasmas created by lasers used for inertial confinement fusion research have been used to extract precise basic nuclear physics data.

Complex structures appear spontaneously in a plasma in a strong magnetic field. The work explores a new regime of plasma behavior that could be relevant for industry and demonstrates a new technique for imaging plasma dynamics.

How a material’s structure affects the conduction of ultrahot electrons is being explored with one of the world’s most powerful lasers.

To create the conditions needed for nuclear fusion, the National Ignition Facility uses high power lasers to generate near solar levels of heat in a pill-size cavity.

A spacecraft has detected unexpectedly high-energy bursts of gamma rays in storm clouds.

Plasma flux ropes, which occur in events like solar flares, have been observed in experiments to bounce off each other instead of merging and annihilating.