Los Alamos National LaboratoryDense Plasma Theory
Microphysical properties of dense, strongly coupled, and quantum plasmas

Introduction to Dense, Strongly Coupled Plasmas

Basic information on dense plasmas and strongly coupled Coulomb systems created in the laboratory and found in astrophysics.

  • plasma regime

    The Physical Regimes

    Introduction to the defining features of dense plasmas, such as the Coulomb coupling parameter, the quantum degeneracy parameter and the typical densities and temperatures.

  • astrophysical plasma

    Dense Plasma in Astrophysics

    Dense plasmas are found under a wide range of physical conditions in many systems in planetary science and dense astrophysical objects (white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, neutron stars, etc.)

  • laboratory plasma

    Dense Plasma in Fusion Research

    Dense plasma conditions are routinely created at large laser and pulsed-power facilities in support of inertial confinement fusion research.

  • sonoluminescence

    Strongly Coupled Plasma in the Laboratory

    Experimentalists use ingenious devices to create strongly coupling Coulomb systems with excellent diagnostic access and controllability, and at much smaller cost than conventional dense plasma experiments at large facilities.

  • warm dense matter

    Warm Dense Matter

    Warm dense matter (WDM) encompasses ionized fluids at the confluence of condensed matter physics, plasma physics and dense liquids. Experimental facilities are becoming available that can create and diagnose well-controlled WDM conditions, offering an unprecedented window on this intermediate state of matter and providing an ideal testing ground for theories.

  • quark gluon plasma

    Quark-Gluon Plasma

    The quark-gluon plasma created in very high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions exhibits a remarkably small viscosity and strong collective behavior. Contrary to early expectations, the quark-gluon plasma thus formed does not behave like an ideal gas of quarks and gluons but appears to be strongly coupled, in analogy to a strongly coupled electron-ion plasma state.