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Home : Our Work : Areas of Research : Plasma Physics

    Plasma Physics
Phone: (202) 767-5635

 

Overview

The Plasma Physics Division conducts broad theoretical and experimental programs of basic and applied research in plasma physics, laboratory discharge, and space plasmas, intense electron and ion beams and photon sources, atomic physics, pulsed power sources, laser physics, advanced spectral diagnostics, and nonlinear systems. 

The effort of the Division is concentrated on a few closely coordinated theoretical and experimental programs. Considerable emphasis is placed on large-scale numerical simulations related to plasma dynamics; ionospheric, magnetospheric, and atmospheric dynamics; nuclear weapons effects; inertial confinement fusion; atomic physics; plasma processing; nonlinear dynamics and chaos; free electron lasers and other advanced radiation sources; advanced accelerator concepts; and atmospheric laser propagation.

Core Capabilities 

  • Radiation Hydrodynamics - The principal emphasis is in the development and application of theoretical models and state-of-the-art numerical simulations combining magnetohydrodynamics, high energy density physics, atomic and radiation physics, and spectroscopy.
  • Laser Plasma - Primary areas of research include physics underpinnings of laser fusion, high-energy-gain laser-inertial- fusion target designs, experiments and simulations of laser-matter interactions at high intensity, advancing the science and technologies of high-energy krypton fluoride and argon fluoride lasers, advancing the technologies of durable high-repetition-rate pulse power and electron-beam diodes for laser pumping and other applications, laser fusion as a power source.
  • Space and Laboratory Plasmas - Space research includes theoretical, numerical, and laboratory and space experimental investigations of the dynamic behavior of the near-Earth space plasmas and radiation belts, and the modification of space plasmas for strategic effects on HF communications, satellite navigation, over-the-horizon radar, and UHF satellite communications.  Applications-oriented plasma research is performed in the production, characterization, and use of low-temperature plasmas and related technology for applications to advance capabilities across the Navy and DOD.  Pulsed-power investigations include electromagnetic launch science and technology and research on directed energy systems for the U.S. Navy.
  • Pulsed Power Physics - Experimental and theoretical research is performed to advance pulsed power driven accelerator technology in areas relevant to defense applications. Research concerns the production, transport, characterization, and modeling of pulsed plasmas and intense high-power, charged particle beams using terawatt-class hundred-kilojoule pulsed power systems that employ capacitive or inductive energy storage and advanced switching. 
  • Directed Energy Physics - Research encompasses the integration of theoretical/computational and experimental research relevant to DOD, ONR, DARPA, and DoE in the areas of ultra-high field laser physics, atmospheric propagation of intense lasers, advanced radiation and accelerator physics, laser-generated plasma-microwave interactions, and dynamics of nonlinear systems. 

Facilities Fact Sheets

  • Electra Experimental Lab Facility - Electron beam pumped laser.  [ Download PDF]
  • NIKE KrF Laser Target Facility.  [Download PDF]
  • Space Plasma Simulation Chamber.  [Download PDF]

Plasma Physics News

NEWS | March 15, 2021

Study Finds Localized Water Release in Upper Mesosphere Enables Polar Mesospheric Cloud Formation

By Paul Cage, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON  –   A team of scientists published an observational and modeling study showing that water vapor, a common launch byproduct of space traffic, can actively cool the mesosphere and induce the formation of mesospheric clouds.

Since the end of the shuttle age in 2011, 17 countries have created their own space agencies, now totaling more than 72, 14 of which have their own launch capabilities. In 2020, there were 104 successful rocket launches globally that potentially released water vapor. But what are the affects it is having on the earth’s atmosphere?

“Nobody knows how much these smaller launches are contributing; not yet anyway,” said Michael Stevens, Ph.D. from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Geospace Science and Technology Branch, and a paper co-author. “If you're using these clouds to measure any small multi-decadal changes, then they can become important. We've shown in this study that they could contribute significantly. But we don't know yet whether they do contribute significantly. This study has advanced our growing understanding of the impact.”

Polar mesospheric clouds research at the edge of space serves to test high altitude weather and climate models of the upper atmosphere that is important for the Navy.

“This new understanding of weather, including regions of the ionosphere, is critical for improving models of over-the-horizon-radar propagation,” Stevens said.

NASA funded the “Super Soaker Mission”, a three-year study, which culminated with the experiments Jan. 25-26, 2018 at the Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) in Alaska. The team created an experiment consisting of three sounding rockets; two rockets carried trimethylaluminum tracers, and a third rocket carried 485 pounds (220 kilograms) of liquid water. 

While many American space missions launch in Florida, PFRR is a good location to study their effects in a controlled setting because of the ground-based instrumentation already in place there. PMCs are at an altitude of about 53 miles (85 kilometers) and are thinner than the clouds one sees looking out their windows.

The rocket with the water detonated when it reached altitude and within seconds, a ground-based lidar detected PMCs.
 
“The fact we saw the clouds form so quickly and the fact that they persisted for about three minutes, was unexpected,” said Stevens. “We saw it on screen and I don't think everyone in the room believed we were going to see that, but we did.”

Stevens was the sole NRL representative on the mission who brought his previous experience with other case studies of this phenomenon conducted over the past 20 years.

“Polar mesospheric clouds appear in the summertime over the poles, and there is evidence they are getting more common. There are also several published papers showing main engine exhaust from the space shuttle can create these clouds, sometimes contributing up to 20% to a PMC season,” Stevens said. “Compared to the overall water budget of the Earth, of course, these contributions are negligible. But compared to the amount of water in these tenuous PMCs it is not.”

“You can only see PMCs near the polar latitudes with the naked eye when the sun is actually below the horizon but still shining up high in the atmosphere in front of you; that’s how thin they are,” Stevens said. “These altitudes where we're working are an arid portion of the atmosphere. So here we come, and we launch a rocket full of water, and we detonate this thing, we're totally soaking it. It's only a bathtub of water, but a bathtub up there is a big deal.”

Stevens has spent most of his career working on satellite missions and said he felt privileged to work with such a great team at NASA and the PFRR science team.

“This was my first rocket mission on which I was actively involved,” Stevens said. “It was a different experience, and it was great, and I hope one day we can do it again.”

A video of the 2018 rocket launches is available at http://bit.ly/3sBs12J. A video of a prelaunch interview is available at http://bit.ly/2Ph0jda. 
 

 

NASA Wallops Flight Facility (Dec. 16, 2016).
Video captures a 485 pound (220 kilogram) canister of water exploding at 1000 frames per second as part of the ground testing for the NASA “Super Soaker” experiment. The rocket experiment is part of a NASA and U.S. Naval Research Laboratory study showing water vapor, a common launch byproduct of space traffic, can actively cool the mesosphere and induce the formation of mesospheric clouds. (Video by NASA Wallops Flight Facility)



About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 2,500 civilian scientists, engineers, and support personnel.