About Me
I received my Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics at Tsinghua University (Beijing, PRC) and then started my PhD at Oxford in 2019. Currently, I am investigating the non-thermal electron dynamics in plasmas.
My research focuses on understanding hot-dense plasmas' behaviour at the level of electron collisional dynamics. This involves creating a targeted non-thermal distribution of electrons and observing their relaxation under femtosecond resolution. Practically, this is done by Xray Free Electron Lasers (e.g. LCLS, EuXFEL, etc.) where the wavelength is fully tunable and thus, highly energetic electrons with arbitrary energy can be created on-demand.
Because ponderomotive energies are negligible at X-ray wavelengths, non-thermal electrons will only be generated either directly by photoionization or via inner-shell atomic recombination processes such as Auger decay. These electrons have well-defined energies, and thus, the relaxation process can be easily tracked, providing an opportunity for measuring electron relaxation time. This measurement will not only offer some of the first measurements of electron-electron collisionality in strongly-coupled systems but will also more broadly assess the validity of the Coulomb Logarithm framework commonly used to model a wide range of electron interaction processes, including bremsstrahlung emission, conductivity, thermal transport and stopping power.
In a more general aspect, I am interested in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and the mystery of "time arrow". The assumption of reaching thermodynamic equilibrium serves as the most important foundation of statistical mechanics. However, the mechanism behind lots of different systems reaching equilibrium in a similar way is far from being well understood. I study the various forms of equilibrium mechanisms such as the Fokker-Planck equation, Kubo formula, master equation, etc., to seek insight into this enigma.
My current research project offers a unique perspective on these phenomena. The study of the electron collisional dynamics in hot-dense plasmas offers an excellent opportunity to understand how non-equilibrium states evolve towards equilibrium. This is particularly fascinating in the context of plasma electron relaxation dynamics, where the interplay of free electrons and ions at the atomic level under extreme conditions can provide fresh insights into relaxation processes. My interest is further driven by the potential of XFEL technology to precisely control and observe these dynamics, offering a window into the behaviour of matter under conditions.