Plasma waves as a research area investigates collective oscillations of charged particles and electromagnetic fields in ionized media, spanning linear and nonlinear phenomena in laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas. It encompasses electrostatic and electromagnetic modes (e.g., Langmuir, ion-acoustic, Alfvén, whistler, and magnetosonic waves), their dispersion properties, instabilities, mode conversion, and wave–particle interactions such as Landau and cyclotron damping. Research focuses on theoretical modeling, kinetic and fluid descriptions, numerical simulations, and experiments, with applications to controlled fusion, space weather, radiation belt dynamics, and plasma-based acceleration and diagnostic techniques.
An international team of scientists from the University of Sheffield and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, led by a postdoctoral research fellow from the University of Newcastle, Australia, has discovered that solar jets ...
Astronomy
12 hours ago
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The European Space Agency–led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a "switchback" in the solar wind's magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter ...
Astronomy
Oct 8, 2026
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Imagine a proton catching a wave and surfing it to gain speed. While the imagery may seem wild, the premise of laser-driven ion acceleration has promise as an alternative to conventional accelerators. However, the ultrathin ...
General Physics
Oct 2, 2026
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50
The Van Allen radiation belts are huge, doughnut-shaped regions of highly energetic charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetosphere. These charged particles play a major role in space weather, so studying them is important ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 22, 2026
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A University of Iowa-led research team has reported in a new study the most detailed observations to date of the bow shock at Jupiter, our solar system's gas giant. The findings from NASA's Juno mission reveal key differences ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 21, 2026
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The sun's magnetic fields are a twisty, curvy, ever-changing mess. In particular, our star's polar regions host areas called polar coronal holes, which contain invisible magnetic highways that stretch into interplanetary ...
Astronomy
Sep 21, 2026
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20
Extremely short, intense light flashes are in high demand to investigate atoms, molecules and new materials. Free-electron lasers (FELs) produce these flashes. But around the world, beam time available at large-scale user ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 14, 2026
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201
In a new Nature Physics study, researchers accelerated electrons to more than twice the energy predicted by the traditional dephasing limit for laser-plasma accelerators operating over the same distance. This was made possible ...
A researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, has published a new study in The Astrophysical Journal suggesting that tiny charged dust grains near the sun may significantly ...
Astronomy
Jul 1, 2026
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37
High above our heads, a silent battle is unfolding within Earth's magnetic shield. For decades, scientists have tracked "killer electrons"—ultrafast particles capable of piercing satellite armor and endangering astronauts ...
