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.
The proton sharks showed up on a Friday. In a routine data calibration meeting for NASA's Parker Solar Probe in 2020, a small group of scientists were scrolling through visualizations of their data showing solar winds. Suddenly, ...
Astronomy
May 28, 2026
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Solar radio bursts are intrinsically linked to the motion of their emitting source through the coronal and heliospheric plasma. Electron transport is mostly confined to magnetic field lines. These electrons move at a substantial ...
Astronomy
May 2, 2026
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Scientists at Heriot‑Watt University have demonstrated in a world-first, that light can be used to control every aspect of how electromagnetic waves oscillate, opening new technological frontiers. Researchers working in photonics, ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 30, 2026
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Plasma, the fourth state of matter, consists of a gas in which electrons are no longer bound to atoms, which allows electricity to flow freely. When beams of particles moving close to the speed of light travel through plasma, ...
Our planet rests inside a magnetic cocoon filled with plasma—but it's not always peaceful and quiet. Activity from the sun can send waves through this space, and some of those disturbances can even reach Earth, affecting ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 17, 2026
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University of Birmingham experts have created open-source computer software that helps scientists understand how fast-moving particles behave when they interact with electromagnetic waves in space. Understanding how these ...
Space Exploration
Apr 16, 2026
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Using high-intensity lasers, researchers have taken an important step toward miniaturization of particle accelerators by demonstrating free-electron laser amplification at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths (27–50 nm), with ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 1, 2026
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The sun, our nearest star, never stops breathing. Every second of every day, it exhales a vast stream of charged particles that sweeps outward through the solar system at hundreds of kilometers per second. We call it the ...
Astronomy
Mar 30, 2026
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One particularly well-known fact about the moon is that it doesn't have much of a magnetosphere to speak of. There's no blanket to protect it from the solar wind ravaging its surface, blowing away its atmosphere and charging ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 16, 2026
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A major study by an international team of researchers using data from the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft has revealed a lattice-like structure of crisscrossing reflected waves that flow downstream behind the moon in Saturn's ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 9, 2026
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