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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 | June 7, 2022

NRL CIRCE Spacecraft to be Part of Historic U.K. Launch

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

WASHINGTON  –   A joint U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)/ U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) experiment is preparing to measure Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment as part of the Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE) mission.
 
Space Systems Command is partnering with Virgin Orbit National Systems, a U.S.-incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary to Virgin Orbit, to launch CIRCE. The satellites, twin 6U CubeSats funded by the ONR’s Space Weather S&T program with the launch supported by the DoD Space Test Program, will fly in a circular orbit at 555 km (344 miles) altitude in a lead/trail formation 300-500 km (186-310 miles) apart in the same orbit plane to measure Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment.
 
“The NRL CIRCE Team is thrilled to be a part of this joint U.S/U.K. mission,” Andrew Nicholas, CIRCE’s Principal Investigator said. “We are looking forward to a successful launch out of Spaceport Cornwall, and are excited to continue work with our U.K. partners once the CIRCE science data starts flowing."
 
CIRCE pushes the boundaries of the CubeSat platform technology, challenging the size, weight and power constraints of the platform as well as integration and complex concepts of operations.
 
“The CIRCE spacecraft are the size of a shoebox and we've managed to sandwich five sensors in each of them,” Nicholas said. “So they are very compact and pretty laden with technology and it is all really tightly integrated in there.” NRL developed the Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-TIP) to measure nighttime O+ 135.6nm airglow emissions in the atmosphere. Each CIRCE CubeSat will have two Tri-TIPs onboard, configured to look along coordinated lines of sight to perform ionospheric tomography in the orbital plane.
 
The U.K. contribution to CIRCE is the In situ and Remote Ionospheric Sensing (IRIS) suite, complementary to NRL sensors, and comprising three highly miniaturized payloads. One IRIS suite will be flown on each satellite, and incorporates an ion/neutral mass spectrometer, a tri-band global positioning system receiver for ionospheric remote sensing, and a radiation environment monitor.
 
NRL Sensor Development & Applications section of the Space Science Division contracted with Blue Canyon Technologies out of Boulder, Colorado to build and integrate the two CIRCE spacecraft.
 
“With most of the program being completed during the global pandemic we are now at the point where we have all the payloads integrated,” Nicholas said. “The spacecraft has been through testing and we are now in a storage period awaiting the launch call up.”
 
During the life of its mission, CIRCE will help researchers better understand how the ionosphere is changing day-to-day, hour-to-hour and even minute-to-minute, which is important to the Navy, especially for over the horizon communications and radar.
 
“In addition, if you really want to understand the ionosphere tomorrow, you have to understand the thermosphere today, so it is great that we have the INMS from the U.K. to measure the neutral composition as well.” Nicholas said.
 
The U.K. instrument suite showcases academic collaboration, with payloads provided by University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University of Bath, and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), drawing on expertise from University of Surrey.
 
“We are delighted to be working with NRL on the CIRCE mission, and proud of the valuable contribution made by our UK payload providers,” Gemma Attrill, Ph.D., Dstl’s CIRCE lead, said. “The data returned by CIRCE will provide unparalleled temporal and spatial detail regarding the dynamic behavior of the ionosphere, allowing us to develop our understanding of system impacts relevant to both defense and the civil sector.”
 
CIRCE is scheduled to launch during the United Kingdom’s first commercial space mission from Spaceport Cornwall located at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, England this summer.
 

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 in 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 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil. 
 

Dstl – The science inside UK defence and security

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) delivers high-impact science and technology (S&T) for the UK's defence, security and prosperity. Dstl is an Executive Agency of the MOD with around 4,500 staff working across four sites; Porton Down, near Salisbury, Portsdown West, near Portsmouth, Fort Halstead, near Sevenoaks, and Alverstoke, near Gosport.