{"id":542632,"date":"2022-11-17T10:13:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=542632"},"modified":"2022-11-17T13:31:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T18:31:45","slug":"radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/","title":{"rendered":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?"},"content":{"rendered":"

First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how plasmas emit or absorb radiation.<\/h2>\n

Most people are familiar with solids, liquids, and gases as three states of matter. However, a fourth state of matter, called plasmas, is the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout our solar system in the sun and other planetary bodies. Because dense plasma\u2014a hot soup of atoms with free-moving electrons and ions\u2014typically only forms under extreme pressure and temperatures, scientists are still working to comprehend the fundamentals of this state of matter. Understanding how atoms react under extreme pressure conditions\u2014a field known as high-energy-density physics<\/a> (HEDP)\u2014gives scientists valuable insights into the fields of planetary science, astrophysics, and fusion energy.<\/p>\n

One important question in the field of HEDP is how plasmas emit or absorb radiation. Current models depicting radiation transport in dense plasmas are heavily based on theory rather than experimental evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>This work reveals fundamental steps for rewriting current textbook descriptions of how radiation generation and transport occurs in dense plasmas.\u201d<\/div>\n

In a new paper<\/a> published in Nature Communications<\/em>, researchers at the University of Rochester<\/a> Laboratory for Laser Energetics<\/a> (LLE) used LLE\u2019s OMEGA laser to study how radiation travels through dense plasma. The research, led by Suxing Hu<\/a>, a distinguished scientist and group leader of the High-Energy-Density Physics Theory Group<\/a> at the LLE and an associate professor of mechanical engineering<\/a>, and Philip Nilson<\/a>, a senior scientist in the LLE\u2019s Laser-Plasma Interaction group, provides first-of-its-kind experimental data about the behavior of atoms at extreme conditions. The data will be used to improve plasma models, which allow scientists to better understand the evolution of stars and may aid in the realization of controlled nuclear fusion as an alternative energy source.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperiments using laser-driven implosions on OMEGA have created extreme matter at pressures several billion times the atmospheric pressure at Earth\u2019s surface for us to probe how atoms and molecules behave at such extreme conditions,\u201d Hu says. \u201cThese conditions correspond to the conditions inside the so-called envelope of white dwarf stars as well as inertial fusion targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Group
(left to right) Philip Nilson, a senior scientist in the LLE\u2019s Laser-Plasma Interaction group; graduate student Alex Chin; Suxing Hu, a distinguished scientist and group leader of the High Energy Density Physics Theory group at the LLE and an associate professor of mechanical engineering; and graduate student David Bishel (inset) contributed to the research to better understand how plasmas emit or absorb radiation. The research will be used to improve models of plasma. (University of Rochester photo \/ Eugene Kowaluk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using x-ray spectroscopy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The researchers used x-ray spectroscopy to measure how radiation is transported through plasmas. X-ray spectroscopy involves aiming a beam of radiation in the form of x-rays at a plasma made of atoms\u2014in this case, copper atoms\u2014under extreme pressure and heat. The researchers used the OMEGA laser both to create the plasma and to create the x-rays aimed at the plasma.<\/p>\n

When the plasma is bombarded with x-rays, the electrons in the atoms \u201cjump\u201d from one energy level to another by either emitting or absorbing photons of light. A detector measures these changes, revealing the physical processes that are occurring inside the plasma, similar to taking an x-ray diagnostic of a broken bone.<\/p>\n

A break from conventional theory<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The researchers\u2019 experimental measurements indicate that, when radiation travels through a dense plasma, the changes in atomic energy levels do not follow conventional quantum mechanics theories often used in plasma physics models\u2014so-called \u201ccontinuum-lowering\u201d models. The researchers instead found that the measurements they observed in their experiments can be best explained using a self-consistent approach based on density-functional theory (DFT). DFT offers a quantum mechanical description of the bonds between atoms and molecules in complex systems. The DFT method was first described in the 1960s and was the subject of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work reveals fundamental steps for rewriting current textbook descriptions of how radiation generation and transport occurs in dense plasmas,\u201d Hu says. \u201cAccording to our experiments, using a self-consistent DFT approach more accurately describes the transport of radiation in a dense plasma.\u201d
\nSays Nilson, \u201cOur approach could provide a reliable way for simulating radiation generation and transport in dense plasmas encountered in stars and inertial fusion targets. The experimental scheme reported here, based on a laser-driven implosion, can be readily extended to a wide range of materials, opening the way for far-reaching investigations of extreme atomic physics at tremendous pressures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers from Prism Computational Sciences and Sandia National Laboratories and additional researchers from the LLE, including physics graduate students David Bishel and Alex Chin, also contributed to this project.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n

\"eruptingResearchers turn liquid metal into a plasma<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

researchers at Rochester\u2019s Laboratory for Laser Energetics have found a way to turn a liquid metal into a plasma and to observe the temperature where a liquid under high-density conditions crosses over to a plasma state.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"illustrationRochester leads effort to understand matter at atom-crushing pressures<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The University is the host institution for a National Science Foundation\u2013funded national collaboration to explore \u2018revolutionary states of matter.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"ResearchersFlash Center moves to Rochester, advances cutting-edge physics research<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Flash Center\u2014devoted to computer simulations to advance understanding of astrophysics, plasma science, high-energy-density physics, and fusion energy\u2014has moved from the University of Chicago to Rochester. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how plasmas emit or absorb radiation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":542702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[23312,18632,33312,5296,18572,13272],"class_list":["post-542632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-tech","tag-department-of-mechanical-engineering","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-high-energy-density-physics","tag-laboratory-for-laser-energetics","tag-research-finding","tag-suxing-hu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow does radiation travel through dense plasma?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lindsey Valich\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lindsey Valich\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lindsey Valich\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\"},\"headline\":\"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":900,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Department of Mechanical Engineering\",\"Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences\",\"high-energy-density physics\",\"Laboratory for Laser Energetics\",\"research finding\",\"Suxing Hu\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science & Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/\",\"name\":\"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\"},\"description\":\"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"A NASA image of plasma bursting from the sun. Plasma\u2014a hot soup of atoms with free moving electrons and ions\u2014is the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout our solar system in the sun and other planetary bodies. A new study from University of Rochester researchers provides experimental data about how radiation travels through dense plasmas, which will help scientists to better understand planetary science and fusion energy. (NASA image)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"University of Rochester\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\",\"name\":\"Lindsey Valich\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/lvalich\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?","description":"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?","og_description":"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lindsey Valich","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lindsey Valich","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/"},"author":{"name":"Lindsey Valich","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827"},"headline":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?","datePublished":"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/"},"wordCount":900,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg","keywords":["Department of Mechanical Engineering","Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences","high-energy-density physics","Laboratory for Laser Energetics","research finding","Suxing Hu"],"articleSection":["Science & Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/","name":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg","datePublished":"2022-11-17T15:13:29+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-17T18:31:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827"},"description":"First-of-its-kind experimental evidence defies conventional theories about how dense plasma emit or absorb radiation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/fea-modeling-dense-plasmas-sun.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"A NASA image of plasma bursting from the sun. Plasma\u2014a hot soup of atoms with free moving electrons and ions\u2014is the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout our solar system in the sun and other planetary bodies. A new study from University of Rochester researchers provides experimental data about how radiation travels through dense plasmas, which will help scientists to better understand planetary science and fusion energy. (NASA image)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/radiation-transport-dense-plasmas-modeling-542632\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How does radiation travel through dense plasma?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"University of Rochester","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827","name":"Lindsey Valich","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/lvalich\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542632"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542772,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542632\/revisions\/542772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}