Nonlinear phenomena in plasmas constitute a research area focused on collective behaviors that arise when plasma responses cannot be described by linearized fluid or kinetic equations. This includes the study of wave–wave and wave–particle interactions, parametric instabilities, turbulence, solitons, shocks, magnetic reconnection, and self-organization processes. Researchers investigate how nonlinearities in the Vlasov–Maxwell or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations lead to energy transfer across scales, anomalous transport, and structure formation in laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas, using analytical theory, numerical simulations, and experiments to understand and control these complex dynamical regimes.
For the first time, scientists have 'photographed' a rare plasma instability, where high-energy electron beams form into spaghetti-like filaments.
Plasma Physics
Mar 7, 2025
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177
A research team, led by Professor Jimin Lee and Professor Eisung Yoon in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNIST, has unveiled a deep learning–based approach that significantly accelerates the computation of a nonlinear ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 28, 2025
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218
In nature, phenomena in which multiple fluctuations occur in a coupled manner are frequently observed. For example, in large earthquakes, cases of them occurring consecutively in adjacent regions have been reported. When ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 22, 2025
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41
The development of sustainable energy sources that can satisfy the world energy demand is one of the most challenging scientific problems. Nuclear fusion, the energy source of stars, is a clean and virtually unlimited energy ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 10, 2025
5
105
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process in plasmas, through which the magnetic energy is converted into plasma kinetic energy and thermal energy rapidly. Current sheets in turbulent plasma are the key trigger ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 11, 2024
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41
Future fusion power plants will require good plasma confinement to sustain reactions and generate energy. One way to contain plasma for fusion reactions is to use a tokamak, a device that applies magnetic fields to "bottle" ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 15, 2024
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59
Researchers at KU Leuven, the University of Colorado, Boulder, the Flatiron Institute, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison recently set out to answer a long-standing research question, specifically whether charged particles ...
To become commercially viable, fusion power plants must create and sustain the plasma conditions necessary for fusion reactions. However, at high temperatures and densities, plasmas often develop gradients in those temperatures ...
Plasma Physics
Mar 12, 2024
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