Plasma and Quantum Group

Magnetized plasmas can be used to amplify and compress laser pulses. 

Plasma can mediate nonlinear wave-wave interactions. The coupling predicted by theory matches simulations.  

Depending on the strengths of nonlinearities, wave-wave interactions can either be integrable or chaotic.

State preparation is used as a test for current quantum computing hardware. The density matrix realized on hardware is close to, but noticeably different from, that of the target state.  

In strongly magnetized plasmas, quantum effects modify Faraday rotation of linearly polarized lasers. 

Compared to unmagnetized plasmas, magnetization introduces additional resonances, which can be used to compress laser pulses more rapidly to higher intensity and shorter duration. 

Plasma phenomena can be described by a hierarchy of models, with QED models at the most foundational level. 

In the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, performance of quantum hardware is drastically improved when quantum programs are compiled using customized gates instead of standard gates. 

Due to strong magnetic fields and fast rotation, polarimetry of pulsar magnetosphere carries rich information. 

Lattice QED simulations can capture well-known plasma phenomena, such as wakefield acceleration, as well as genuine relativistic-quantum effects, such as electron-positron pair production.

Non-perturbative field theories often exhibit nontrivial phase transitions. The phase diagram of strong-field QED is currently unknown.

Parameters in reduced three-wave models are constrained by first-principles simulations, which agree with theory predictions. 

When fluctuations occur on a dynamical background rather than vacuum, additional terms arise in effective field theories. 

In traditional plasma physics, charges are treated as particles and electromagnetic fields are treated as waves. However, alternative pictures may be more appropriate where charges should be treated as waves while photons should be treated as particles. In this example, the strength of an external magnetic field is a parameter that determines the regimes.

The three-wave model is a reduced model that describes nonlinear wave-wave interactions. In the three-wave model, the coupling coefficient is an essential parameter, which can be deduced from more fundamental plasma models, such as the fluid model. 

In this experimental setup, magnetized plasm jets, which are produced by a laser-driven coil and a laser heated foil, is being characterized by interferometry and proton radiograph.

Without an axial magnetic field, plasma expands almost spherically from the laser-heated foil. However, when the magnetic field is turned on, jets form along the field direction, as revealed here by the shadowgraphs. 

Photograph of the OMEGA EP chamber, right before firing the lasers in an experiment that was set up to characterize magnetized plasma jets.

Lattice scalar-QED simulations can be used to model plasma dynamics. After ensuring that the initial configurations are self-consistent, field equations are solved to advance field configurations in time.