🔬 Category

physics.plasm-ph

614 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.

Intrinsic Nonlocality of Spin- and Polarization-Resolved Probabilities in Strong-Field Quantum Electrodynamics

This paper demonstrates that standard strong-field QED models fail to accurately predict angle-, spin-, and polarization-resolved distributions because they incorrectly treat photon emission as an instantaneous local event, and it proposes a new physically consistent model that integrates over the finite formation region to reveal significant deviations in polarization and helicity patterns with major implications for both laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations.

Samuele Montefiori, Antonino Di Piazza, Tobias Podszus, Christoph H. Keitel, Matteo Tamburini2026-03-13⚛️ hep-ph

Differentiable Programming for Plasma Physics: From Diagnostics to Discovery and Design

This paper demonstrates that differentiable programming, enabled by automatic differentiation, serves as a versatile framework in plasma physics that not only accelerates traditional design and inference tasks but also enables novel capabilities such as discovering new nonlinear phenomena, learning hidden kinetic variables for fluid models, and performing high-dimensional inverse design.

A. S. Joglekar, A. G. R. Thomas, A. L. Milder, K. G. Miller, J. P. Palastro, D. H. Froula2026-03-13🔬 physics

Strong Prevalence of Hammerhead Velocity Distributions Close to the Heliospheric Current Sheet

This study statistically analyzes 20 Parker Solar Probe encounters to reveal that "hammerhead" proton velocity distributions, characterized by anisotropic beams with a constricted gap from the core, predominantly occur near the Heliospheric Current Sheet, suggesting they serve as key diagnostics for energization processes associated with the HCS and the solar wind.

Srijan Bharati Das, Jaye L. Verniero, Samuel T. Badman, Robert Alexander, Michael Terres, Federico Fraschetti, Kristoff W. Paulson, Fernando Carcaboso, Tatiana Niembro, Roberto Livi, Davin Larson, Ali (…)2026-03-13🔭 astro-ph

Stochastic single-stage stellarator optimization using fixed-boundary equilibria

This paper introduces a stochastic single-stage stellarator optimization method that combines fixed-boundary MHD equilibria with randomly perturbed coils to avoid sharp local minima and produce more robust quasi-symmetric configurations with improved flux, symmetry, and particle confinement compared to existing deterministic and two-stage approaches.

Pedro F. Gil, Jason Smoniewski, Rogerio Jorge, Paul Huslage, Eve V. Stenson2026-03-13🔬 physics

Designing A Buildable Optimized Stellarator to Confine Electron-Positron Plasmas

This paper presents the design of a buildable, optimized stellarator for the EPOS experiment, demonstrating that key metrics for electron-positron plasma confinement and engineering feasibility can be achieved through advanced optimization tools and the evaluation of eight candidate configurations.

Pedro F. Gil, Jason Smoniewski, Paul Huslage, Rogerio Jorge, Timo Thun, Elisa Buglione-Ceresa, Tristan Schuler, Stefan Fingl, Grégoire-Hubert Ducas, Eve V. Stenson2026-03-13🔬 physics

Real-time Tomography-based Bayesian Inference from TCV Bolometry Data

This paper presents a novel, computationally efficient real-time Bayesian technique for estimating radiated power from specific plasma regions at the TCV tokamak using pre-optimized linear combinations of bolometer data, enabling its integration into plasma control systems without relying on prior synthetic training or tomographic reconstruction.

D. Hamm, C. Theiler, L. Simons, B. P. Duval, U. Sheikh, the TCV team2026-03-13🔬 physics

Infrared Thermography in the Tokamak à Configuration Variable

This paper outlines the current configuration, capabilities, and recent technical advancements of the Tokamak à Configuration Variable's infrared thermography systems while highlighting that parasitic infrared light and surface layer heat transmission factors remain the primary sources of uncertainty in heat flux measurements.

M. Zurita, H. Reimerdes, C. Colandrea, H. Elaian, M. Pedrini, Y. Andrebe, F. Crisinel, S. Koncewiez, J. -D. Landis, D. Mykytchuk, U. Sheikh, the TCV team2026-03-13🔬 physics