Radiation and particle generation in plasmas is a research area focused on the mechanisms by which plasmas emit electromagnetic radiation and produce energetic particles through collective and microscopic processes. It encompasses bremsstrahlung, synchrotron, cyclotron, line, and recombination radiation, as well as wave–particle interactions, instabilities, and nonlinear dynamics that accelerate electrons and ions. The field spans laboratory, fusion, space, and astrophysical plasmas, using kinetic and fluid models, numerical simulations, and diagnostics to characterize emission spectra, energy transport, and particle distribution functions, with implications for confinement physics, high-energy-density environments, and advanced radiation and particle sources.
For the first time, a quantum radiation reaction in strong electromagnetic fields has been demonstrated experimentally by allowing electrons to collide with an extremely intense and powerful laser beam. The research findings ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 17, 2026
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Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers have discovered ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 5, 2026
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54
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, scientists have performed the first global simulations of monster shocks—some of the strongest shocks in the universe—revealing how these extreme events in magnetar magnetospheres ...
New simulations performed on a NASA supercomputer are providing scientists with the most comprehensive look yet into the maelstrom of interacting magnetic structures around city-sized neutron stars in the moments before they ...
Astronomy
Jan 29, 2026
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93
An international team of scientists, led by the University of Oxford, has achieved a world-first by creating plasma "fireballs" using the Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator at CERN, Geneva, to study the stability of plasma ...
Astronomy
Nov 3, 2025
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69
Muon beams can now be created in a device that is the length of a ruler.
Muons are elementary particles that resemble electrons, but they are heavier and decay very rapidly (i.e., in just a few microseconds). Studying muons can help to test and refine the standard of particle physics, while also ...
Laser ion acceleration uses intense laser flashes to heat electrons of a solid to enormous temperatures and propel these charged particles to extreme speeds. These have recently gained traction for applications in selectively ...
General Physics
May 19, 2025
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When light interacts with metallic nanostructures, it instantaneously generates plasmonic hot carriers, which serve as key intermediates for converting optical energy into high-value energy sources such as electricity and ...
Nanophysics
Mar 17, 2025
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96
Scientists have developed a method for generating fast, bright proton beams using a high-repetition-rate laser-plasma accelerator. This work, published in Nature Communications, resolves several long-standing challenges and ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 11, 2025
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