Two assumptions at the heart of standard plasma theory are that the plasma is weakly coupled in the sense that the potential energy of Coulomb interactions is weak compared to the kinetic energy, and that the plasma is weakly magnetized in the sense that the gyroradii of particles are large compared to the Debye length. A focus of my research group is to extend plasma kinetic theories to treat conditions of strong Coulomb coupling, strong magnetization, or both. The work is largely motivated by topics in dense plasmas, like inertial confinement fusion or dense astrophysical objects like white dwarfs or stellar interiors. However, conditions of strong coupling and/or strong magnetization can also be created using table-top scale experiments developed in the AMO field. These have the advantage of a controlled and well-diagnosed platform to test the models. In this talk I will describe two categories of experiments (conducted by others) that we have used to validate our theories. The first is ultracold neutral plasmas. These are plasmas created in cold-atom traps (MOTs), where a plasma is produced by laser ionization and diagnosed using laser-induced fluorescence. These experiments produce strongly coupled plasmas in a charge-neutral state. The second is non-neutral plasmas confined in Penning traps. These are strongly magnetized plasmas that can range from weak to strong coupling. The past work has been productive, but there is much more that could be done through collaboration between AMO and plasma physicists.

Bio:
Scott Baalrud is a Professor in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan. Prior to arriving in Ann Arbor in January 2021, he was on the faculty of the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa (2013-2020), a Feynman postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2012-2013), and a DOE postdoc at the University of New Hampshire (2010-2012). All three of his academic degrees are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD 2010, MS 2008, BS 2006). His research accomplishments have been acknowledged by the American Physical Society Thomas Stix Award, the Institute of Physics Hershkowitz Early Career Award, and early career awards from NSF, DOE and AFOSR. His teaching and mentorship have been acknowledged by the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Mentor Award (2016) and Early Career Scholar of the Year Award (2017).