arXiv subjects

Scott D. Baalrud

Publications and source records attributed to Scott D. Baalrud.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Plasma Conductivity from Warm Dense Matter to the Spitzer Limit Using Mean-Force Kinetic Theory

A theoretical model is developed to compute electronic transport coefficients extending from warm and dense to hot and dilute plasma conditions. This kinetic theory-based approach models strong Coulomb correlations by treating interactions using the potential of mean force, electron degeneracy using the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation, and diffraction by computing cross sections quantum mechanically. The result provides a fast and accurate means to compute electrical conductivity,thermal conductivity and electrothermal coefficients, including contributions from electron-electron interactions. The model enables accurate calculation of materials properties in many warm dense matter systems, including inertial confinement fusion, stellar evolution, and high energy density plasma experiments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2026

Kinetic Theory for Electronic Transport Properties of Warm Dense Matter: Chapman-Enskog Solution of the Uehling-Uhlenbeck Equation

A kinetic theory is developed to describe the electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and electrothermal coefficients in warm dense plasmas. It models electron degeneracy using the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation, diffraction by computing scattering cross sections quantum mechanically, and strong coupling by treating the scattering events using the potential of mean force. A key advancement detailed here is the development of a Chapman-Enskog solution of the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation for hydrodynamic transport coefficients. The result is a model which accurately predicts transport coefficients spanning from warm dense matter conditions through hot dilute plasmas, including the influence of electron-electron interactions. Results are compared with quantum molecular dynamics simulations, experiments, and other models. The present method is able to capture the ''Spitzer'' terms in the classical plasma limit, while also capturing the correct degenerate limit. The transition between these limits in the warm dense matter regime is explained in terms of the availability of states for electron scattering.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2026

Effects of Screening and Pressure Ionization on the Electron Broadening of Spectral Lines in Dense Plasmas

Collisions between electrons and radiating atoms broaden spectral absorption and emission lines in dense plasmas. High densities also introduce screening and pressure ionization effects that distort the wavefunctions of both bound and free electrons. In order to study how dense plasma effects influence the electron broadening of spectral lines, this paper incorporates electron wavefunctions from an average-atom (AA) model to calculate the line width of the B III $2p-2s$ transition at $T = 10$ eV for mass densities ranging from $ρ=10^{-4}-0.4$ g/cc. The calculation method uses the impact approximation, allowing the line width to be written in terms of electron-collision cross sections and an interference term. Compared to an otherwise identical calculation that uses Coulomb free wavefunctions, the AA method is found to modify both the cross sections and the resulting line width at sufficiently high density by introducing screening and pressure ionized bound states. Screening lowers the cross sections at low energies and near electron excitation thresholds, while pressure ionized bound states introduce resonances into the continuum. Thus, as the density increases, the relative line width between the AA and Coulomb calculations follows a general decrease because of screening, with sharp increases at various intervals due to pressure ionization. The AA results are also compared with a common approach to introduce screening through the interaction potential and reduced models that use the Bethe formula for the inelastic electron-collision cross sections.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Temperature Relaxation in Non-Neutral Plasmas Relevant to Antimatter Experiments

An important process for antimatter experiments is the cooling of particles in a Penning-Malmberg trap to experimentally useful temperatures. A non-neutral plasma of one species (e.g. antiprotons) can be collisionally cooled on another colder species (e.g. electrons). Modeling temperature relaxation in these devices is challenging from a plasma physics perspective because the particles are strongly magnetized (the gyrofrequency exceeds the plasma frequency). Recently, a theoretical model was proposed to describe the temperature evolution in these conditions, predicting a multistep relaxation process where temperatures parallel to the magnetic field relax much faster than perpendicular to it. Here, this model is tested using molecular dynamics simulations. Two analysis methods are applied: one based on an imposed temperature difference, and the other based on a Green-Kubo relation. The results of the simulations support the theoretical predictions. This work extends previous studies of temperature anisotropy relaxation in one-component non-neutral plasmas to the two-component systems relevant to trapped antimatter experiments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Plasma hydrodynamics from mean force kinetic theory

Mean force kinetic theory is used to evaluate the electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, electrothermal coefficient, thermoelectric coefficient, and shear viscosity of a two-component (ion-electron) plasma. Results are compared with molecular dynamics simulations. These simulations are made possible by assuming a repulsive Coulomb force for all interactions. Good agreement is found for all coefficients up to a Coulomb coupling strength of $Γ\approx 20$. This is over 100-times larger than the coupling strength at which traditional theories break down. It is concluded that mean force kinetic theory provides a means to extend hydrodynamics to dense plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Mean Force Emission Theory for Classical Bremsstrahlung in Electron-Ion Plasmas

This work extends the previously developed mean force emission theory to describe electron-ion plasmas. Results are compared to molecular dynamics simulations. The main extensions are to account for the attractive nature of electron-ion interactions and to model short-range quantum effects using the Kelbg potential. By reducing the electron-ion force inside the deBroglie wavelength, the Kelbg potential causes a decay at high frequencies and a decrease in magnitude of the low frequency bremsstrahlung spectrum. The attractive electron-ion interaction also allows for classically bound states that show up as peaks in the emission spectrum. Results show that the Kelbg potential can capture quantum modifications to classical Gaunt factors, but is limited in describing emission at very high frequencies. This work further supports the notion that there is a peak in emission near the plasma frequency at strong coupling that cannot be captured using the common Drude correction. Importantly, the linear response framework used to calculate the bremsstrahlung emission coefficient is related to both the absorption coefficient and the real part of the dynamic electrical conductivity. This means that the conclusions drawn from this study can be applied to these transport coefficients as well. Finally, this work compares the results with commonly used classical and quantum mechanical Gaunt factors, and discusses the impact of a Fermi-Dirac distribution of electrons on emission and why screening slightly reduces the bremsstrahlung power in weakly coupled and non-degenerate plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Temperature Relaxation Rates in Strongly Magnetized Plasmas

Strongly magnetized plasmas, characterized by having a gyrofrequency larger than the plasma frequency ($β= ω_c/ω_p \gg 1$), are known to exhibit novel transport properties. Previous works studying pure electron plasmas have shown that strong magnetization significantly inhibits energy exchange between parallel and perpendicular directions, leading to a prolonged time for relaxation of a temperature anisotropy. Recent work studying repulsive electron-ion interactions showed that strong magnetization increases both the parallel and perpendicular temperature relaxation rates of ions, but in differing magnitudes, resulting in the formation of temperature anisotropy during equilibration. This previous study treated electrons as a heat bath and assumed weak magnetization of ions. Here, we broaden this analysis and compute the full temperature and temperature anisotropy evolution over a broad range of magnetic field strengths. It is found that when electrons are strongly magnetized ($β_e \gg 1$) and ions are weakly magnetized ($β_i \ll 1$), the magnetic field strongly suppresses the perpendicular energy exchange rate of electrons, whereas the parallel exchange rate slightly increases in magnitude compared to the value at weak magnetization. In contrast, the ion perpendicular and parallel energy exchange rates both increase in magnitude compared to the values at weak magnetization. Consequently, equilibration causes the electron parallel temperature to rapidly align with the ion temperature, while the electron perpendicular temperature changes much more slowly. It is also shown that when both ions and electrons are strongly magnetized ($β_i, β_e \gg 1$) the ion-electron perpendicular relaxation rate dramatically decreases with magnetization strength as well.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Intrinsic bulk viscosity of the one-component plasma

Intrinsic bulk viscosity of the one-component plasma (OCP) is computed and analyzed using equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and the Green-Kubo formalism. It is found that bulk viscosity exhibits a maximum at $Γ\approx 1$, corresponding to the condition that the average kinetic energy of particles equals the potential energy at the average inter-particle spacing. The weakly coupled and strongly coupled limits are analyzed and used to construct a model that captures the full range of coupling strengths simulated: $Γ\approx 10^{-2} - 10^2$. Simulations are also run of the Yukawa one-component plasma (YOCP) in order to understand the impact of electron screening. It is found that electron screening leads to a smaller bulk viscosity due to a reduction in the excess heat capacity of the system. Bulk viscosity is shown to be at least an order of magnitude smaller than shear viscosity in both the OCP and YOCP. The generalized frequency-dependent bulk viscosity coefficient is also analyzed. This is found to exhibit a peak near twice the plasma frequency in strongly coupled conditions, which is associated with the oscillatory decay observed in the bulk viscosity autocorrelation function. The generalized shear and bulk viscosity coefficients are found to have a similar magnitude for $ω\gtrsim 2ω_p$ at strongly coupled conditions.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

dc electrical conductivity in strongly magnetized plasmas

A generalized Ohm's law is derived to treat strongly magnetized plasmas in which the electron gyrofrequency significantly exceeds the electron plasma frequency. The frictional drag due to Coulomb collisions between electrons and ions is found to shift, producing an additional transverse resistivity term in the generalized Ohm's law that is perpendicular to both the current ($\vc{J}$) and the Hall ($\vc{J} \times \vc{B}$) direction. In the limit of very strong magnetization, the parallel resistivity is found to increase by a factor of 3/2, and the perpendicular resistivity to scale as $\ln (ω_{ce} τ_e)$, where $ω_{ce} τ_e$ is the Hall parameter. Correspondingly, the parallel conductivity coefficient is reduced by a factor of 2/3, and the perpendicular conductivity scales as $\ln(ω_{ce} τ_e)/(ω_{ce} τ_e)^2$. These results suggest that strong magnetization significantly changes the magnetohydrodynamic evolution of a plasma.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

A Kinetic Model of Friction in Strongly Coupled Strongly Magnetized Plasmas

Plasmas that are strongly magnetized in the sense that the gyrofrequency exceeds the plasma frequency exhibit novel transport properties that are not well understood. As a representative example, we compute the friction force acting on a massive test charge moving through a strongly coupled and strongly magnetized one-component plasma using a generalized Boltzmann kinetic theory. Recent works studying the weakly coupled regime have shown that strong magnetization leads to a transverse component of the friction force that is perpendicular to both the Lorentz force and velocity of the test charge; in addition to the stopping power component aligned antiparallel to the velocity. Recent molecular dynamics simulations have also shown that strong Coulomb coupling in addition to strong magnetization gives rise to a third component of the friction force in the direction of the Lorentz force. Here, we show that the generalized Boltzmann kinetic theory captures these effects, and generally agrees well with the molecular dynamics simulations over a broad range of Coulomb coupling and magnetization strength regimes. The theory is also used to show that a "gyro" component of the friction in the direction of the Lorentz force arises due to asymmetries associated with gyromotion during short-range collisions. Computing the average motion of the test charge through the background plasma, the transverse force is found to strongly influence the trajectory by changing the gyroradius and the gyro friction force is found to slightly change the gyrofrequency of the test charge resulting in a phase shift.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

Effects of Coulomb Coupling On Friction In Strongly Magnetized Plasmas

The friction force on a test particle traveling through a plasma that is both strongly coupled and strongly magnetized is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. In addition to the usual stopping power component aligned antiparallel to the velocity, a transverse component that is perpendicular to both the velocity and Lorentz force is observed. This component, which was recently discovered in weakly coupled plasmas, is found to increase in both absolute and relative magnitude in the strongly coupled regime. Strong coupling is also observed to induce a third component of the friction force in the direction of the Lorentz force. These first-principles simulations reveal novel physics associated with collisions in strongly coupled, strongly magnetized, plasmas that are not predicted by existing kinetic theories. The effect is expected to influence macroscopic transport in a number of laboratory experiments and astrophysical plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

Extended space and time correlations in strongly magnetized plasmas

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to show that strong magnetization significantly increases the space and time scales associated with interparticle correlations. The physical mechanism responsible is a channeling effect whereby particles are confined to move along narrow cylinders with a width characterized by the gyroradius and a length characterized by the collision mean free path. The predominant interaction is $180^\circ$ collisions at the ends of the collision cylinders, resulting in a long-range correlation parallel to the magnetic field. Its influence is demonstrated via the dependence of the velocity autocorrelation functions and self-diffusion coefficients on the domain size and run time in simulations of the one-component plasma. A very large number of particles, and therefore domain size, must be used to resolve the long-range correlations, suggesting that the number of charged particles in the collection must increase in order to constitute a plasma. Correspondingly, this effect significantly delays the time it takes to reach a diffusive regime, in which the mean square displacement of particles increases linearly in time. This result presents challenges for connecting measurements in non-neutral and ultracold neutral plasma experiments, as well as molecular dynamics simulations, with fluid transport properties due to their finite size.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Friction Force in Strongly Magnetized Plasmas

A charged particle moving through a plasma experiences a friction force that commonly acts antiparallel to its velocity. It was recently predicted that in strongly magnetized plasmas, in which the plasma particle gyro-frequency exceeds the plasma frequency, the friction also includes a transverse component that is perpendicular to both the velocity and Lorentz force. Here, this prediction is confirmed using molecular dynamics simulations, and it is shown that the relative magnitude of the transverse component increases with plasma coupling strength. This result influences single particle motion and macroscopic transport in strongly magnetized plasmas found in a broad range of applications.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

A Generalized Boltzmann Kinetic Theory for Strongly Magnetized Plasmas with Application to Friction

Coulomb collisions in plasmas are typically modeled using the Boltzmann collision operator, or its variants, which apply to weakly magnetized plasmas in which the typical gyroradius of particles significantly exceeds the Debye length. Conversely, O'Neil has developed a kinetic theory to treat plasmas that are so strongly magnetized that the typical gyroradius of particles is much smaller than the distance of closest approach in a binary collision. Here, we develop a generalized collision operator that applies across the full range of magnetization strength. To demonstrate novel physics associated with strong magnetization, it is used to compute the friction force on a massive test charge. In addition to the traditional stopping power component, this is found to exhibit a transverse component that is perpendicular to both the velocity and Lorentz force vectors in the strongly magnetized regime, as was predicted recently using linear response theory. Good agreement is found between the collision theory and linear response theory in the regime in which both apply, but the new collision theory also applies to stronger magnetization strength regimes than the linear response theory is expected to apply in.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2020

Quantum Mean-Force Kinetic Theory: General Formulation and Application to Electron-Ion Transport in Warm Dense Matter

We present an approach to extend plasma transport theory into the Warm Dense Matter (WDM) regime characterized by moderate Coulomb coupling and electron degeneracy. It is based on a recently proposed closure of the BBGKY hierarchy that expands in terms of the departure of correlations from their equilibrium value, rather than in terms of the strength of correlations. This kinetic equation contains modifications to the collision term in addition to a second term that models the non-ideal contributions to the equation of state. An explicit collision operator is derived in the semiclassical limit that is similar to that of the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation, but where scattering is mediated by the potential of mean force (PMF). As a demonstration, we use this collision integral to evaluate temperature and momentum relaxation rates in dense plasmas. We obtain degeneracy- and coupling-dependent 'Coulomb integrals' that take the place of $\lnΛ$ in the scattering rates. We additionally find a novel difference in the way in which degeneracy influences momentum relaxation in comparison to temperature relaxation. Finally, we evaluate electron-ion relaxation rates for the case of warm dense deuterium over a range of density and temperature spanning the classical to quantum and weak to strong coupling transitions. Results are compared with the Landau-Spitzer rate and rates obtained from the quantum Landau-Fokker-Planck equation and Lee-More model. We find that the models diverge significantly in the degenerate and moderately coupled regime and attribute this difference to how the various models treat the physics of Pauli blocking, correlations, large-angle scattering, and diffraction.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Interaction of Biased Electrodes and Plasmas: Sheaths, Double Layers and Fireballs

Biased electrodes are common components of plasma sources and diagnostics. The plasma-electrode interaction is mediated by an intervening sheath structure that influences properties of the electrons and ions contacting the electrode surface, as well as how the electrode influences properties of the bulk plasma. A rich variety of sheath structures have been observed, including ion sheaths, electron sheaths, double sheaths, double layers, anode glow, and fireballs. These represent complex self-organized responses of the plasma that depend not only on the local influence of the electrode, but also on the global properties of the plasma and the other boundaries that it is in contact with. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the conditions under which each type of sheath forms, what the basic stability criteria and steady-state properties of each are, and the ways in which each can influence plasma-boundary interactions and bulk plasma properties. These results may be of interest to a number of application areas where biased electrodes are used, including diagnostics, plasma modification of materials, plasma sources, electric propulsion, and the interaction of plasmas with objects in space.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Testing thermal conductivity models with equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of the one component plasma

Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations are used to calculate the thermal conductivity of the one component plasma (OCP) via the Green-Kubo formalism over a broad range of Coulomb coupling strength, $0.1\leΓ\le180$. These simulations address previous discrepancies between computations using equilibrium versus nonequilibrium methods. Analysis of heat flux autocorrelation functions show that very long ($6\times10^5ω_p^{-1}$) time series are needed to reduce the noise level to allow $\lesssim2\%$ accuracy. The new simulations provide the first accurate data for $Γ\lesssim 1$. This enables a test of the traditional Landau-Spitzer theory, which is found to agree with the simulations for $Γ\lesssim 0.3$. It also enables tests of theories to address moderate and strong Coulomb coupling. Two are found to provide accurate extensions to the moderate coupling regime of $Γ\lesssim 10$, but none are accurate in the $Γ\gtrsim 10$ regime where potential energy transport and coupling between mass flow and stress dominate thermal conduction.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Mean Force Kinetic Theory: a Convergent Kinetic Theory for Weakly and Strongly Coupled Plasmas

A new closure of the BBGKY hierarchy is developed, which results in a convergent kinetic equation that provides a rigorous extension of plasma kinetic theory into the regime of strong Coulomb coupling. The approach is based on a single expansion parameter which enforces that the exact equilibrium limit is maintained at all orders. Because the expansion parameter does not explicitly depend on the range or the strength of the interaction potential, the resulting kinetic theory does not suffer from the typical divergences at short and long length scales encountered when applying the standard kinetic equations to Coulomb interactions. The approach demonstrates that particles effectively interact via the potential of mean force and that the range of this force determines the size of the collision volume. When applied to a plasma, the collision operator is shown to be related to the effective potential theory [Baalrud and Daligault, Phys. Rev. Lett 110, 235001 (2013)]. The relationship between this and previous kinetic theories is discussed.

physics.plasm-ph↗