Thermal transport inhibition and other transport barriers in magnetized plasmas for inertial confinement fusion research

Aims and Objectives:

One notable achievement of early 20th century physics was the development and experimental validation of theories of the material properties (such as thermal conductivity or viscosity) of everyday gases. Today, there is a pressing need to establish analogous theories for the material properties of the magnetised, weakly collisional plasmas found in inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) experiments and also in many extreme astrophysical environments.

Novelty of the research methodology:

In ICF research, accurate modelling of heat transport is crucial for realising high-yield target designs. Yet measurements from laser-plasma experiments have shown that classical models for the transport properties of magnetised, weakly collisional plasmas often fail dramatically. Thanks to recent technological advances in both high-performance computing and high-energy laser facilities, now is ideal for studying this problem systematically, combining theory, simulations, and experiments.

The student will focus on the design and subsequent delivery of a series of simulations that will characterise thermal conductivity in magnetised, weakly collisional, ICF-relevant plasma. Any models derived will then be directly compared to recently obtained measurements. While it is intended that the project will be theoretically and numerically focused, there is scope for the student to pursue different aspects of the topic depending on their interests, including data analysis techniques and experiments.

This project falls within the EPSRC emergence and physics far from equilibrium research area