Wave steepening and shock formation in ultracold neutral plasmas

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dc.citation.articleNumber113503en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber11en_US
dc.citation.journalTitlePhysics of Plasmasen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber31en_US
dc.contributor.authorWarrens, M. K.en_US
dc.contributor.authorInman, N. P.en_US
dc.contributor.authorGorman, G. M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHusick, B. T.en_US
dc.contributor.authorBradshaw, S. J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorKillian, T. C.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-09T20:16:56Zen_US
dc.date.available2025-01-09T20:16:56Zen_US
dc.date.issued2024en_US
dc.description.abstractWe present observations of wave steepening and signatures of shock formation during expansion of ultracold neutral plasmas formed with an initial density distribution that is centrally peaked and decays exponentially with distance. The plasma acceleration and velocity decrease at large distance from the plasma center, leading to central ions overtaking ions in the outer regions and the development of a steepening front that is narrow compared to the size of the plasma. The density and velocity change dramatically across the front, and significant heating of the ions is observed in the region of steepest gradients. For a reasonable estimate of electron temperature, the relative velocity of ions on either side of the front modestly exceeds the local sound speed (Mach number M≳1). This indicates that by sculpting steep density gradients, it is possible to create the conditions for shock formation, or very close to it, opening a new avenue of research for ultracold neutral plasmas.en_US
dc.identifier.citationWarrens, M. K., Inman, N. P., Gorman, G. M., Husick, B. T., Bradshaw, S. J., & Killian, T. C. (2024). Wave steepening and shock formation in ultracold neutral plasmas. Physics of Plasmas, 31(11), 113503. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0237455en_US
dc.identifier.digital113503_1_5-0237455en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1063/5.0237455en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/118094en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherAIP Publishingen_US
dc.rightsExcept where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the terms of the license or beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.titleWave steepening and shock formation in ultracold neutral plasmasen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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