Quantum high energy density physics

Abstract:

Understanding magnetic-field generation and amplification in turbulent plasma is essential to account for observations of magnetic fields in the universe. A theoretical framework attributing the origin and sustainment of these fields to the so-called fluctuation dynamo was recently validated by experiments on laser facilities in low-magnetic-Prandtl-number plasmas (Pm<1). However, the same framework proposes that the fluctuation dynamo should operate differently when Pm≳1, the regime relevant to many astrophysical environments such as the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters. This paper reports an experiment that creates a laboratory Pm≳1 plasma dynamo. We provide a time-resolved characterization of the plasma’s evolution, measuring temperatures, densities, flow velocities, and magnetic fields, which allows us to explore various stages of the fluctuation dynamo’s operation on seed magnetic fields generated by the action of the Biermann-battery mechanism during the initial drive-laser target interaction. The magnetic energy in structures with characteristic scales close to the driving scale of the stochastic motions is found to increase by almost three orders of magnitude and saturate dynamically. It is shown that the initial growth of these fields occurs at a much greater rate than the turnover rate of the driving-scale stochastic motions. Our results point to the possibility that plasma turbulence produced by strong shear can generate fields more efficiently at the driving scale than anticipated by idealized magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations of the nonhelical fluctuation dynamo; this finding could help explain the large-scale fields inferred from observations of astrophysical systems.

Abstract:

This paper presents a study of early epidemiological assessment of COVID-19 transmission dynamics in Indonesia. The aim is to quantify heterogeneity in the numbers of secondary infections. To this end, we estimate the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] and the overdispersion parameter [Formula: see text] at two regions in Indonesia: Jakarta-Depok and Batam. The method to estimate [Formula: see text] is based on a sequential Bayesian method, while the parameter [Formula: see text] is estimated by fitting the secondary case data with a negative binomial distribution. Based on the first 1288 confirmed cases collected from both regions, we find a high degree of individual-level variation in the transmission. The basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] is estimated at 6.79 and 2.47, while the overdispersion parameter [Formula: see text] of a negative-binomial distribution is estimated at 0.06 and 0.2 for Jakarta-Depok and Batam, respectively. This suggests that superspreading events played a key role in the early stage of the outbreak, i.e., a small number of infected individuals are responsible for large numbers of COVID-19 transmission. This finding can be used to determine effective public measures, such as rapid isolation and identification, which are critical since delay of diagnosis is the most common cause of superspreading events.

Abstract:

The development of bright free-electron lasers (FEL) has revolutionized our ability to create and study matter in the high-energy-density (HED) regime. Current diagnostic techniques have been successful in yielding information on fundamental thermodynamic plasma properties, but provide only limited or indirect information on the detailed quantum structure of these systems, and on how it is affected by ionization dynamics. Here we show how the valence electronic structure of solid-density nickel, heated to temperatures of around 10 of eV on femtosecond timescales, can be probed by single-shot resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Linac Coherent Light Source FEL. The RIXS spectrum provides a wealth of information on the HED system that goes well beyond what can be extracted from x-ray absorption or emission spectroscopy alone, and is particularly well suited to time-resolved studies of electronic-structure dynamics.