The “International Topical Conference on Plasma Science: Advanced Plasma Concepts” was hosted by Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon and the University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal, during the period 24–28 September 2012. The conference was organized by Padma Kant Shukla, (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), Robert Bingham (RAL, United Kingdom) and José Tito Mendonça, (IST, Portugal). The scientific activity belongs to a series of successful meetings, which started at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, in 1989, and which has also been taking place at various other locations, including Faro and Lisbon in Portugal, and Santorini in Greece.

By means of particle simulations of the equations of motion for ions interacting among themselves under the influence of newly discovered Shukla–Eliasson attractive force (SEAF) in a dense quantum plasma, we demonstrate that the SEAF can bring ions closer at atomic dimensions. We present simulation results of the dynamics of an ensemble of ions in the presence of the SEAF without and with confining external potentials and collisions between ions and degenerate electrons. Our particle simulations reveal that under the SEAF, ions attract each other, come closer, and form ionic clusters in the bath of degenerate electrons that shield ions. Furthermore, an external confining potential produces robust ion clusters that can have cigar- and ball-like shapes, which remain stable when the confining potential is removed. The stability of ion clusters is discussed. Our results may have applications to solid density plasmas (density exceeding 1023 per cm3), where the electrons will be degenerate and quantum forces due to the electron recoil effect caused by the overlapping of electron wave functions and electron tunneling through the Bohm potential, electron-exchange and electron-exchange and electron correlations associated with electron-1/2 spin effect, and the quantum statistical pressure of the degenerate electrons play a decisive role.

Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysics and in the laboratory. Recent numerical simulations and experiments have shown how these can arise from the encounter of two collisionless plasma shells. When the shells interpenetrate, the overlapping region turns unstable, triggering the shock formation. As a first step toward a microscopic understanding of the process, we here analyze in detail the initial instability phase. On the one hand, 2D relativistic PIC simulations are performed where two unmagnetized, symmetric, and initially cold pair plasmas collide. On the other hand, the instabilities at work are analyzed, as well as the field at saturation and the seed field which gets amplified. For mildly relativistic motions and onward, Weibel modes with ω=0+iδ govern the linear phase. We derive an expression for the duration of the linear phase in reasonable agreement with the simulations.

Recently, there has been great interest around quantum relativistic models for plasmas. In particular, striking advances have been obtained by means of the Klein–Gordon–Maxwell system, which provides a first-order approach to the relativistic regimes of quantum plasmas. The Klein–Gordon–Maxwell system provides a reliable model as long as the plasma spin dynamics is not a fundamental aspect, to be addressed using more refined (and heavier) models involving the Pauli–Schrödinger or Dirac equations. In this work, a further simplification is considered, tracing back to the early days of relativistic quantum theory. Namely, we revisit the square-root Klein–Gordon–Poisson system, where the positive branch of the relativistic energy–momentum relation is mapped to a quantum wave equation. The associated linear wave propagation is analyzed and compared with the results in the literature. We determine physical parameters where the simultaneous quantum and relativistic effects can be noticeable in weakly coupled electrostatic plasmas.

We present a particle-in-cell code accounting for the magnetic dipole force and for the magnetization currents associated with the electron spin. The electrons are divided into spin-up and spin-down populations relative to the magnetic field, where the magnetic dipole force acts in opposite directions for the two species. To validate the code, we study wakefield generation by an electromagnetic pulse propagating parallel to an external magnetic field. The properties of the generated wakefield are shown to be in good agreement with previous theoretical results. Generalizations of the code to account for other quantum effects are discussed.

A self-consistent model for the description of dusty plasma structures, such as noctilucent clouds (NLC) and polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE), which are frequently grouped together under the common term polar mesospheric clouds, is presented. The model takes into account the processes of condensation of water vapor, ionization, recombination, action of solar radiation, sedimentation, dust particle growth, dust particle charging, electric fields, etc. Using the model, we explain the basic data of observations on the behavior of charged component in polar summer mesosphere. Furthermore, we show the influence of initial distributions of fine particles as well as that of the processes of condensation and water molecule absorption by fine particles on the formation of NLC and PMSE. We also illustrate the possibility of the formation of layered structure and sharp boundaries of NLC.

Surface plasmons (SP) in a semi-bounded quantum plasma with degenerate electrons (e.g. a metal) are considered, and some interesting consequences of electron Pauli blocking for the SP dispersion and temporal attenuation are discussed. In particular, it is demonstrated that a semi-bounded degenerate plasma with a sharp boundary supports two types of SP with distinct frequencies and qualitatively different temporal attenuation, in contrast to a non-degenerate hot plasma that only supports one type of SP.

In order to implement a Scenario of π− catalysis of Deuterium–Tritium (DT) thermonuclear reactions in a dense and hot precompressed target plasma envisioned in the Intertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) fast ignition approach, we pay detailed attention to the stopping of negative pions arising from electro-disintregration of target D and T nuclei by ultra-relativistic e-beams. Emphasis is put on a mostly non-relativistic pion velocity regime (E ≤ 10 MeV).

A theoretical investigation of the propagation of a relativistic electron (or positron) particle beam in an overdense magnetoactive plasma is carried out within a fluid plasma model, taking into account the individual quantum properties of beam particles. It is demonstrated that the collective character of the particle beam manifests mostly through the self-consistent macroscopic plasma wakefield created by the charge and the current densities of the beam. The transverse dynamics of the beam–plasma system is governed by the Schrödinger equation for a single-particle wavefunction derived under the Hartree mean field approximation, coupled with a Poisson-like equation for the wake potential. These two coupled equations are subsequently reduced to a nonlinear, non-local Schrödinger equation and solved in a strongly non-local regime. An approximate Glauber solution is found analytically in the form of a Hermite–Gauss ring soliton. Such non-stationary (‘breathing’ and ‘wiggling’) coherent structure may be parametrically unstable and the corresponding growth rates are estimated analytically.

From the Apollo era of exploration, it was discovered that sunlight was scattered at the terminators giving rise to “horizon glow” and “streamers” above the lunar surface. Subsequent investigations have shown that the sunlight was most likely scattered by electrostatically charged dust grains originating from the surface. A renaissance is being observed currently in investigations of the Moon. The Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource missions (the latter jointly with India) are being prepared in Russia. Some of these missions will include investigations of lunar dust. Here we discuss the future experimental investigations of lunar dust within the missions of Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource. We consider the dusty plasma system over the lunar surface and determine the maximum height of dust rise. We describe mechanisms of formation of the dusty plasma system over the Moon and its main properties, determine distributions of electrons and dust over the lunar surface, and show a possibility of rising dust particles over the surface of the illuminated part of the Moon in the entire range of lunar latitudes. Finally, we discuss the effect of condensation of micrometeoriod substance during the expansion of the impact plume and show that this effect is important from the viewpoint of explanation of dust particle rise to high altitudes in addition to the dusty plasma effects.

When a cold atomic gas is illuminated by a quasi-resonant laser beam, light-induced dipole–dipole correlations make the scattering of light a cooperative process. Once a fluid description is adopted for the atoms, many scattering properties are captured by the definition of a complex refractive index. The solution of the scattering problem is here presented for spherical atomic clouds of arbitrary density profiles, such as parabolic densities characteristic of ultra-cold clouds. A new solution for clouds with infinite boundaries is derived, which is particularly useful for the Gaussian densities of thermal atomic clouds. The presence of Mie resonances, a signature of the cloud acting as a cavity for the light, is discussed. These resonances leave their fingerprint in various observables such as the scattered intensity or in the radiation pressure force, and can be observed by tuning the frequency of the incident laser field or the atom number.

Recently, a theoretical investigation of the collective and nonlocal quantum effects has been carried out within the framework of a quantum approach to the relativistic charged particle beam travelling in a cold, collisionless, strongly magnetized plasma. This has been done taking into account both the plasma wake field excitation and the quantum paraxial approximation. On the basis of this theory, here we carry out a preliminary study of the transverse effects experienced by a cold relativistic beam through a thin plasma slab (plasma lens). In the strongly nonlocal regime, in which the beam experiences a very strong focusing effect, the scheme of plasma lens is reviewed in terms of the wave description provided by the above quantum theory.

Fast-electron beam stopping mechanisms in media ranging from solid to warm dense matter have been investigated experimentally and numerically. Laser-driven fast electrons have been transported through solid Al targets and shock-compressed Al and plastic foam targets. Their propagation has been diagnosed via rear-side optical self-emission and Kα X-rays from tracer layers. Comparison between measurements and simulations shows that the transition from collision-dominated to resistive field-dominated energy loss occurs for a fast-electron current density ~5 × 1011 A cm−2. The respective increases in the stopping power with target density and resistivity have been detected in each regime. Self-guided propagation over 200μm has been observed in radially compressed targets due to ~1kT magnetic fields generated by resistivity gradients at the converging shock front.

We propose an experiment for the measurement of gravitational effect on cold atoms by applying a one-dimensional vertically sinusoidal oscillation to the magneto-optical trap, and observe the signature of low quantum energy shift of quantum-bound states as a consequence of gravitational fluctuation. To this end, we present brief details of the experiment on a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC), and a simplistic calculation of the Gross–Pitaevskii solution using the Thomas–Fermi approximation with focus on the density of the BEC for the time-dependent perturbation. Moreover, we calculate the power induced by quantum gravity on a generic atomic ensemble. We also address the possible challenges for the measurement of the expected results. Finally, we discuss the prospect of further developing this experiment toward measuring the effect of quantum spacetime fluctuations on cold atoms.

A theoretical investigation of both deterministic and statistical approaches to modulational instability arising in the cylindrical nonlinear von Neumann equation (CNLvNE) is carried out. This is done on the basis of a recently discovered exact mapping that relates the CNLvNE to the standard one. We show that the dispersion relations of the cylindrical case (for the examples considered here) do not depend explicitly on time and their functional forms do not change with respect to the corresponding standard cases. These results differ from the previous investigations.

X-ray and extreme ultraviolet emission from galaxy clusters can be interpreted as thermal emission from a hot plasma gravitationally bound to the cluster and constituting a significant amount of the mass of the cluster. The origin of this plasma and its thermal energy content can be linked to the formation process through the theory of self-organization of these structures.

Volume 79, issue 3, of the Journal of Plasma Physics, contained two papers (Allen, 2013; Lehnert, 2013), which were intended for publication in volume 79, issue 4, a thematic issue dedicated to ‘Advanced Plasma Concepts’.

The Press apologises to the authors concerned, the guest editors of issue 4 and the readers for this error.