Registration Fee: US$350 student and US$500 regular

As part of the International Conference on Plasma Science 2014 (ICOPS 2014), a special 1.5 day mini-course on Atomic and Radiation Physics will be offered. Atomic physics is the Rosetta stone of modern physics. It enables us to link material properties on the atomic scale to the radiation that drives High Energy Density (HED) plasmas. Many diagnostic applications of intense plasma x-ray sources are enabled by high-accuracy atomic physics calculations. Understanding atomic physics in high density regimes is important as atomic models contribute much of the basic physical data on which predictive radiation hydrodynamics models rely, and spectroscopic measurements of the line transitions is one of the richest sources of diagnostic information about plasma properties, energetics, and evolution. Atomic & Radiation physics in multi-disciplinary areas connect research at universities & national laboratories and addressing challenges of atomic and radiation physics in HED plasmas provides exciting opportunities for young scientists in areas that push the frontiers of atomic and radiation physics. This minicourse is intended to be educational and informative for the physics community in general and especially for graduate and undergraduate students.

With the advent of increasingly more powerful and energetic plasma drivers of the future, there is increased likelihood that these plasmas will not be in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). This necessitates the development of complex non-LTE (NLTE) atomic and radiation modeling. NLTE kinetics using high accuracy data for important atomic processes must couple ionization physics, the radiation field and radiation hydrodynamics. This will allow us to understand plasma evolution for HED plasmas produced in the laboratories (NIF, Z, ZR, LCLS etc.) as well as in expanding astrophysical environments such as stellar interiors, supernovae etc., with their diversity of compositions, velocities and envelope masses. Additionally, NLTE modeling is also a key requirement for spectroscopic diagnostics of plasmas in the extreme regimes created in the new experimental facilities mentioned above and in the cosmic environments. NLTE modeling is vitally important for determining line formation in plasma that is intrinsically out of equilibrium due to non-locality of radiative transfer (change of opacity), and material abundance in, for example, solar and stellar atmospheres. The revised predictions of these compositions using accurate NLTE models may change our views of the early and expanding universe. The lecturers in this mini-course will cover materials on all of these important atomic and radiation physics challenges.

This mini-course will cover fundamental research on theoretical modeling, computational approaches, and experimental findings of state-of-the-art atomic and plasma modelings and measurements in the laboratory such at the Z machine in Sandia and also cosmic sources, high-resolution spectroscopy and development of sources of intense coherent x-ray radiation using ultra-fast lasers for various laboratory plasmas. It will play an enabling role in bringing together experts in the fields so as to ensure optimal coordination among the fields. Atomic physicists who study the structure of atoms and their radiative and collisional properties will describe latest progress of their discipline while astrophysicists and laboratory plasma physicists will review their present research interests and the context in which atomic data are needed. Participants at this conference will acquire a broad range of knowledge and skills that will enable them to contribute to many areas of science and technology.

Be sure to check out the Paul Phelps Continuing Education Grant.

Lecture Topics

  • Overview of Atomic and Radiation Physics Arati Dasgupta, Naval Research Laboratory More info ↓
  • Radiation Transport in Z pinches John P. Apruzese, NRL/L3 More info ↓
  • X-Ray Spectroscopic Signatures for Z pinches Alla Safronova, Univ. Nevada, Reno More info ↓
  • Applied Spectroscopy in Pulsed Power Plasmas Gregory A. Rochau, Sandia National Lab More info ↓
  • Opacity: Theoretical and Astrophysical Aspects Anil K. Pradhan, Ohio State University More info ↓
  • Radiation Field Effects on Non-LTE Plasmas Steven Rose, Imperial College, UK More info ↓
  • Line Profile and Line Broadening Richard W. Lee, SLAC/UC-Berkeley More info ↓
  • Non-LTE Atomic Physics for the National Ignition Facility – a Tour of X-Ray Spectra Kevin B. Fournier, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory More info ↓
  • Atomic Models for Non-LTE Simulations Yuri Ralchenko, NIST More info ↓
  • Science at the Timescale of the Electron: Coherent keV X-Rays from Tabletop Femtosecond Lasers Margaret Murnane, JILA/ Univ. Colorado More info ↓
  • Properties of Ultrafast Laser Heated Plasmas Todd Ditmire, Univ. Texas More info ↓

Registration Information

Registration Fee: US$350 student and US$500 regular
Deadline: May 15, 2014

Contact Information

Dr. Arati Dasgupta
Plasma Physics Division, Code 6723
Naval Research Laboratory
4555 Overlook Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20375-5346
Tel: (202) 404-4389
Fax: (202) 404-7596
E-mail: arati.dasgupta@nrl.navy.mil