🔬 Category

physics.plasm-ph

725 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.

🔬 physics

One dimensional high-order moment models with realistic collisions for nonequilibrium ion transport in weakly ionized plasmas

This paper proposes and validates a novel six-moment hyperbolic quadrature-based model with analytically derived collision terms that accurately simulates nonequilibrium ion transport in weakly ionized plasmas under strong electric fields and arbitrary collisional scales, offering high-fidelity distribution reconstruction at a computational cost comparable to standard fluid models.

Anatole Berger, Alejandro Alvarez Laguna2026-07-30
🔬 physics

Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics for a Sustainable Planar Plasma Jet with Homogeneous Plasma in Large Treatment Areas for Biomedical Applications

This study presents a portable, low-temperature co-fired ceramic-based planar argon plasma jet designed for large-area biomedical applications, which achieves stable, uniform plasma discharge with controlled temperatures and ozone levels while meeting key safety standards.

Ivan Gomez Ho (Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), Hua-Lin Chen (Department (…)2026-07-30
⚛️ nuclear theory

Rotating mirror with all-directional pinch compressions - The beauty and simplicity in controlled nuclear fusion

This paper proposes a novel fusion device utilizing a rotating mirror with detached electrodes and all-directional pinch compressions to synergistically combine magnetic and inertial confinement methods, aiming to achieve the Lawson criterion and demonstrate the feasibility of controlled nuclear fusion through a simplified, high-efficiency approach.

Linjin Zheng2026-07-30
🔬 physics

SPECTRE: A robust solver for 3D equilibria with arbitrary topology

The paper introduces SPECTRE, a robust and efficient 3D equilibrium solver based on the Multi-Region relaxed MHD model that utilizes a new force formulation and stable minimization scheme to accurately calculate complex magnetic topologies, including islands and chaos, across various fixed and free-boundary stellarator configurations.

E. Balkovic, J. Loizu, E. Lanti, C. Smiet, C. Lazzati, R. Ramasamy, A. Goodman, J. Geiger, J. P. Graves2026-07-30
🔬 physics

Polaris: a flexible stellarator demonstration experiment with simple modular coils

This paper presents the design, construction, and initial plasma results of Polaris, a novel, flexible small-scale stellarator at the Swiss Plasma Center featuring a glass vacuum vessel and interchangeable modular coils to serve as a unique testbed for investigating fundamental stellarator edge physics.

Simon P. H. Vincent, Joaquim Loizu, Matthieu Toussaint, Rémy Jacquier, Jérémy Salm, Philippe Guittienne, Matias Habib, I (…)2026-07-29
🔬 atomic physics

Reconciling chemical models of X-ray Thomson Scattering with the Bethe ff-sum rule

This paper presents a minimal analytical extension of the Chihara decomposition for X-ray Thomson scattering that incorporates exact bound-free and bound-bound transitions to satisfy the Bethe ff-sum rule, demonstrating that the standard impulse approximation fails to meet fundamental theoretical constraints and yields experimentally detectable deviations.

Maximilian P. Böhme, Paul Hamann, Veronika A. Kruse, Hannah M. Bellenbaum, Armin Bergermann, David T. Bishel, Thomas Gaw (…)2026-07-29
🔬 applied physics

Measurement of directional muon beams generated at the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory successfully demonstrated the generation of high-flux, directional muon beams using a petawatt laser-driven electron beam and a high-Z converter, proving that such compact laser-plasma sources can produce muons in numbers far exceeding cosmic backgrounds and significantly enhancing muon imaging applications.

Davide Terzani, Stanimir Kisyov, Stephen Greenberg, Luc Le Pottier, Maria Mironova, Alex Picksley, Joshua Stackhouse, Ha (…)2026-07-28
⚛️ nuclear theory

The Non-thermal Energy Window for Laser-Driven Nuclear Reactions

This paper develops an analytical framework using a self-similar plasma expansion model to derive a closed-form expression for the effective reaction energy window and fusion reactivity of non-thermal ions accelerated by Target Normal Sheath Acceleration, demonstrating that conventional thermal Gamow window interpretations are insufficient for accurately describing laser-driven nuclear reactions.

Eunseok Hwang, Heamin Ko, Myung-Ki Cheoun, Dukjae Jang2026-07-28