Yuan Shi
University of Colorado Boulder, CO·Physics
In laser-driven fusion experiments, many laser beams cross inside a hot, electrically charged gas called a plasma. Where they cross, the beams can trade energy, a process called crossbeam energy transfer.
- Fields
Physics
Engineering
- Topics
plasma physics
laser-plasma interactions
crossbeam energy transfer
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2029
What they work on
- Test the hypothesis that a strong magnetic field suppresses energy transfer between parallel-polarized crossing laser beams while enabling transfer between perpendicular-polarized beams, using experiments at the OMEGA Laser Facility.
- Measure magnetized crossbeam energy transfer across a wide range of externally applied magnetic field strengths, in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Use radiation magnetohydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations to guide experimental design and to compare first-principles theory with measurements.
- Develop machine learning methods for analyzing laser-plasma data so that experiments and simulations can be compared quantitatively.
More about the research
Very strong magnetic fields often arise in these experiments or are applied on purpose. How those fields change the way lasers interact with plasma is still poorly understood. This project studies magnetized crossbeam energy transfer. The goal is to make laser-driven experiments, and the computer models used to design them, more reliable.
Why it matters
Better models of how strong magnetic fields alter laser energy exchange could make laser-driven fusion experiments more predictable. National laboratories and private companies could use these models to speed up fusion energy development, including magneto-inertial fusion. The models could also support national security, industrial and medical uses of high-energy-density lasers.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Maria Gatu Johnson
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA·Physics
Use new diagnostic instruments at laser facilities to study six-nucleon reactions that produce three particles, such as those in the Sun's proton-proton fusion cycles.
Pierre Gourdain
University of Rochester, NY·Physics
Measure the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent spectrum, how energy is spread among eddies of different sizes, down to the viscous scale in a magnetized plasma made in the HADES pulsed power facility.
Louise Willingale
University of Michigan, MI·Physics
Develop and characterize a charged-particle probe diagnostic at the NSF ZEUS laser facility that measures rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields inside laser-made plasmas.
The school
University of Colorado Boulder: 36 labs on PI Pages, $718M a year on research, 447 research doctorates a year.
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