physics.plasm-ph papers

Plasma physics explores the behavior of the fourth state of matter, a superheated soup of charged particles that makes up most of the visible universe. From the fusion power we hope to harness on Earth to the glowing auroras and distant stars above, this field investigates how these energetic gases interact with magnetic fields and light. It is a dynamic area where extreme conditions reveal fundamental laws of nature in ways solid matter never can.

At Gist.Science, we bridge the gap between these complex discoveries and curious minds by processing every new preprint from arXiv in this category. We transform dense, technical research into clear, plain-language explanations alongside detailed summaries, ensuring that breakthroughs in plasma dynamics and fusion energy are accessible to everyone. Below are the latest papers in plasma physics, curated and simplified for your reading.

Enhanced electron injection for efficient proton acceleration and neutron production in femtosecond laser-driven nano-structured targets

This study experimentally demonstrates that irradiating 3D-printed nano-wire-array targets with ultra-intense femtosecond lasers significantly enhances electron injection, resulting in a 3.5-fold increase in laser-to-proton energy conversion efficiency (up to 9%) and the generation of high-energy protons and neutrons, a mechanism confirmed by 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

Yingzi Dai, Chengyu Qin, Hui Zhang, Guoqiang Zhang, Changbo Fu, Xiangai Deng, Dirui Xu, Shuai Xu, Xuesong Geng, Jing Wang, Bowen Zhang, Yunwei Cui, Xiaojing Guo, Weifu Yin, Yanqi Liu, Xingyan Liu, Che (…)2026-04-07🔬 physics

Features of spherical torus p 11B burning plasmas

This paper presents a multi-magnetofluid model for a compact, rotating spherical torus burning p-B11 plasma featuring distinct thermal and suprathermal components that enhance fusion rates and modify stability, transport, and confinement properties to support ENN's aneutronic commercial fusion roadmap.

Y. -K. M. Peng, A. Ishida, T. Sun, W. Liu, H. Huang, Y. Shi, B. Liu, D. Guo, Z. Li, D. Luo, X. Xiao, G. Zhao, M. Liu2026-04-07🔬 physics

Ion-neutral and neutral-neutral scattering in argon at KeV energies and implications for high-aspect-ratio etching

This paper presents a straightforward physical model and Monte Carlo simulation scheme to predict the angular distributions of energetic argon ions and neutrals, demonstrating charge-exchange neutralization as a viable method for generating fast neutral beams to enable low-damage, high-aspect-ratio etching.

Alexander V. Khrabrov, Igor D. Kaganovich2026-04-07🔬 physics

Fast Magnetosonic Turbulence in Two-Dimensional Relativistic Plasmas

This paper presents the first fully kinetic simulations of driven 2D relativistic plasma turbulence that successfully induce a fast magnetosonic cascade, revealing a transition from weak wave-dominated dynamics to strong shock-driven behavior with spectral properties in the weak regime that align with theoretical predictions.

Petr Ugarov, Vladimir Zhdankin, Giuseppe Arrò2026-04-07🔬 physics

Hydrogen Inventory Simulations for PFCs (HISP)

This paper introduces HISP, an open-source simulation tool used to demonstrate that baking is the most effective method for removing tritium from ITER's plasma-facing components, significantly outperforming Glow Discharge Conditioning and low-power deuterium pulses which had minimal impact on the final inventory.

Kaelyn Dunnell, Adria Lleal, Etienne Augustin Hodille, Jonathan Dufour, Remi Delaporte-Mathurin, Tom Wauters2026-04-07⚛️ nucl-ex

Laser-driven ion acceleration in long-lived optically shaped gaseous targets enhanced by magnetic vortices

This research demonstrates high-repetition-rate, multi-MeV laser-driven ion acceleration by utilizing intersecting counterpropagating blast waves to create long-lived, near-critical density gaseous targets where multi-kilotesla magnetic vortices drive the primary acceleration mechanism.

I. Tazes, S. Passalidis, G. Andrianaki, A. Skoulakis, C. Karvounis, D. Mancelli, J. Pasley, E. Kaselouris, I. Fitilis, M. Bakarezos, E. P. Benis, N. A. Papadogiannis, V. Dimitriou, M. Tatarakis2026-04-06🔬 physics

Proton Temperature Anisotropy Across Interplanetary Shocks: A Statistical Analysis with WIND observations

This statistical study of approximately 800 interplanetary shocks observed by the Wind spacecraft reveals that proton temperature anisotropy downstream is strongly shaped by shock geometry, deviates from adiabatic predictions due to non-adiabatic processes, and is regulated by kinetic instabilities that constrain the plasma as it relaxes toward typical solar wind conditions.

Zeping Jin, Lingling Zhao, Xingyu Zhu, Vladimir Flosinski, Gary P. Zank, Jakobus Le Roux, Yiming Jiao, Ashok Silwal, Nibuna S. M. Subashchandar2026-04-06🔬 physics

Self-subsidizing Mercury Remediation with Fusion Reactors

This paper proposes that fusion reactors can serve as self-subsidizing environmental solutions by using high neutron flux to transmute toxic mercury into valuable gold, thereby generating sufficient economic revenue to fund the technology while permanently eliminating a major pollutant.

J. F. Parisi, J. Azad2026-04-06🔬 physics

Collimation of diamagnetic laser-driven plasma outflows by an ambient magnetic-pressure gradient

This paper presents magnetohydrodynamic simulations demonstrating that laser-driven plasma outflows propagating through an ambient magnetic field become radially confined and collimated by a self-generated diamagnetic cavity and a resulting magnetic-pressure gradient, with the degree of collimation increasing as the applied magnetic field strength rises.

Yigeng Tian, Chung Hei Leung, Arijit Bose, Riddhi Bandyopadhyay, Michael A. Shay, William H. Matthaeus2026-04-06🔬 physics

Tearing Driven Reconnection: Energy Conversion Involving Firehose Kinetic Instabilities (2D Hybrid Möbius Simulations)

This study utilizes 2D hybrid Möbius simulations to demonstrate that during tearing-driven magnetic reconnection in weakly collisional plasmas, energy conversion primarily occurs in the nonlinear phase where magnetic energy transforms into ion bulk flow and heating, with firehose kinetic instabilities subsequently regulating the resulting parallel temperature anisotropy by redistributing internal energy to the perpendicular direction.

Etienne Berriot (LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CY Cergy Paris Université, CNRS, Meudon, France), Petr Hellinger (Astronomical Insti (…)2026-04-06🔭 astro-ph

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