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.

Effect of front surface engineering on high energy electron, X-ray and heavy ion generation from Relativistic laser interaction with thick high-Z targets

Experiments at the Scarlet Facility using a $10^{21}$ W/cm $^2$ laser on thick tantalum targets revealed that while bare targets produced the highest MeV electron and X-ray yields, thicker front-surface coatings like foam and nanowires enhanced heavy ion acceleration, highlighting the critical role of coating density and thickness in optimizing particle generation and suggesting post-damage crater analysis as a viable method for benchmarking laser absorption.

J. Twardowski (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA), C. Kuz (Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA), A. S. Bogal (…)2026-03-10🔬 physics

UK White Paper on Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) seismology of solar and heliospheric plasmas

This White Paper advocates for a coordinated UK programme integrating high-precision observations, advanced theory, and machine learning to advance Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) seismology, thereby addressing critical solar physics challenges and enhancing space weather forecasting capabilities.

Valery M. Nakariakov, David B. Jess, Andrew N. Wright, Timothy K. Yeoman, Thomas Elsden, James A. McLaughlin, Dmitrii Y. Kolotkov, Viktor Fedun, Robertus Erdélyi2026-03-09🔭 astro-ph

Effects of 3D printed capsule material on activation thin foil irradiation and counting for fusion neutron yield measurements

This study evaluates activation foils and capsule materials for fusion neutron yield measurements, demonstrating that aluminum and copper foils are suitable for multi-foil configurations, 3D-printed thermoplastic capsules introduce negligible measurement bias despite slight count reductions, and lanthanum-based detectors offer a viable alternative to high-purity germanium spectrometers.

D. Lobelo, E. Panontin, X. Wang, P. Raj, I. Holmes, R. A. Tinguely2026-03-09🔬 physics

Neural operator transformers capture bifurcating drift wave turbulence in fusion plasma simulations

This paper demonstrates that transformer-based neural operator surrogates can accurately and efficiently emulate the complex, multiscale dynamics of drift-wave turbulence bifurcation in fusion plasmas, including rare transitions and long-term evolution, thereby offering a computationally viable alternative to direct numerical simulations for real-time control and optimization.

Johannes J. van de Wetering, Ben Zhu2026-03-09🔬 physics

Line-Tied Flux Rope Relaxation and Reconnection: A 3D Kinetic Case Study

This study utilizes a newly developed parallel-kinetic-perpendicular-moment (PKPM) model to simulate the 3D relaxation and reconnection of line-tied flux ropes, revealing a current-dependent transition between diamagnetic and paramagnetic regimes where macroscopic structural differences mask underlying kinetic similarities that are effectively quantified using squashing factor and quasi-potential diagnostics.

Joshua Pawlak, James Juno, Jason M. TenBarge2026-03-09🔬 physics

Plasma Screening Effects in Stark Broadening: A Fully Relativistic Close-Coupling Approach

This paper introduces a fully relativistic close-coupling approach that incorporates plasma screening effects to model Stark broadening, resolving theoretical bottlenecks in electron-ion collisions and providing a quantum-mechanical interpretation of screening factors for improved plasma diagnostics.

Chao Wu, Yong Wu, Yu Hao Zhu, Ming Li, Jian Guo Wang, Xiang Gao2026-03-09🔬 physics.atom-ph

Plasmoid growth in 2D Full-F Gyrofluid Magnetic Reconnection

This paper utilizes a novel Full-F gyrofluid model to simulate 2D Harris-sheet magnetic reconnection in low-beta plasmas, demonstrating that the non-normal nature of the evolution operator enables significant transient amplification that drives explosive reconnection and explains the transition from linear tearing to rapid nonlinear acceleration.

F. F. Locker, M. Rinner, M. Held, A. Kendl2026-03-09🔬 physics

Plugging of multi-mirror machines by a traveling rotating magnetic field

This paper proposes using a traveling, rotating magnetic field as a more energetically efficient and penetrating alternative to electric fields for suppressing axial losses in multi-mirror fusion machines, thereby enabling the achievement of fusion conditions in the central cell.

Tal Miller, Eli Gudinetsky, Ilan Be'ery, Ido Barth2026-03-09🔬 physics

An Overview of Relativistic Particle Pushers and their Extension to Arbitrary Order Accuracy

This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of explicit relativistic particle pushers used in Particle-in-Cell simulations, demonstrating that a significant class of these schemes can be generalized to arbitrary high-order accuracy and evaluating the performance of their fourth-order variants against second-order counterparts.

Holger Schmitz2026-03-09🔬 physics

Boltzmann Equation Field Theory I: Ensemble Averages

This paper presents an unbiased method for mapping particles to distribution functions that unifies Boltzmann's and Gibbs' paradigms to derive the principle of maximum entropy, enabling a rigorous statistical mechanical treatment of self-gravitating systems through the decoupling of time and ensemble averages.

Jun Yan Lau2026-03-06🔭 astro-ph

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