In this study, for the first time, in particular to astrophysics and fusion studies, how atomic nuclei embedded in the plasma environment are affected by plasma are systematically analysed. The related interactions in plasma environments considered as Debye and quantum plasma are depicted by more general exponential cosine screened Coulomb (MGECSC) potential. The plasma effects on the change of nuclear energy levels are probed through computations performed within the nuclear shell-model framework. For this purpose, the single-particle energy (spe) values to be used in the calculations are obtained by considering the modified Woods-Saxon (WS) potential due to shielding effect of plasma environment. As the modification in question is executed on Coulomb interaction term in WS potential, the computations are carried out for $ ^{18} $Ne nucleus which has two valence protons. Under the influence of the plasma, it is confirmed that the spe's change within certain limit value ranges. When considering the nuclear shell-model for the related computing, it is clear that this change leads to an obvious shifting in the energies of the nuclear states. It is observed that proton spe values are sensitive to plasma shielding effect, and shielding effect has a significant potent on the ground-state and excited energy states of the nucleus. In particular, the ground-state binding energies are determined to be extremely sensitive to the plasma shielding parameters. Plasma environments affect the proton spe and ground state energy (gse) in the same way. The alternative to each other of plasma shielding parameters on the spe, gse and excited energy levels is also analysed.
We demonstrate explicitly that some recent calculations of atomic electric dipole moments (EDM) are incomplete. A contribution overlooked therein is pointed out. When included, it cancels exactly the result of those calculations, and thus restores the standard conclusions for nuclear EDM in atoms.
According to the Schiff theorem an external electric field vanishes at atomic nucleus in a neutral atom, i.e. it is completely shielded by electrons. This makes a nuclear electric dipole moment (EDM) unobservable. In this paper an extension of the Schiff theorem to an oscillating electric field is considered. Such field can reach the nucleus and interact with the nuclear EDM. The enhancement effect appears if the field is in resonance with atomic or molecular transition. The shielding by electrons strongly affects low-energy nuclear electric dipole transition amplitudes in different nuclear re…
Screened potential, modified by non standard electron cloud distributions responsible for the shielding effect on fusion of reacting nuclei in astrophysical plasmas, is derived. The case of clouds with depleted tails in space coordinates is discussed. The modified screened potential is obtained both from statistical mechanics arguments based on fluctuations of the inverse of the Debye-Huckel radius and from the solution of a Bernoulli equation used in generalized statistical mechanics. Plots and tables useful in evaluating penetration probability at any energy are provided.
The CEM2k and LAQGSM codes have been recently developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to simulate nuclear reactions for a number of applications. We have benchmarked our codes against most available measured data at incident particle energies from 10 MeV to 800 GeV and have compared our results with predictions of other current models used by the nuclear community. Here, we present a brief description of our codes and show illustrative results to show that CEM2k and LAQGSM can be used as reliable event generators for space-radiation-shielding, cosmic-ray-propagation, and other astrophysica…
Recently we showed that the nuclear transmutation rates are largely overestimated in the Widom-Larsen theory of the so called `Low Energy Nuclear Reactions'. Here we show that unbound plasma electrons are even less likely to initiate nuclear transmutations.
The refined values of the magnetic dipole moments of $^{185}$Re and $^{187}$Re nuclei are obtained. For this, we perform a combined relativistic coupled cluster and density functional theory calculation of the shielding constant for the ReO$_4^-$ anion. In this calculation, we explicitly include the effect of the finite nuclear magnetization distribution in the single-particle nuclear model using the Woods-Saxon potential for the valence nucleon. By combining the obtained value of the shielding constant $σ=4069(389)$~ppm with the available experimental nuclear magnetic resonance data we obtain…
We consider several nuclear fusion reactions that take place at the center of the sun, which are omitted in the standard pp-chain model. More specifically the reaction rates of the nonradiative production of ^3He, ^7Be, and ^8B nuclei in triple collisions involving electrons are estimated within the framework of the adiabatic approximation. These rates are compared with those of the corresponding binary fusion reactions.
In high neutron flux environments where isomers can be strongly populated by nucleonic reactions, isotope abundances from reaction network chains can be affected by the population of nuclear isomers. At high temperatures and densities there is the additional possibility of populating these isomers electromagnetically. Here we examine the rates for electromagnetic excitation of the isotopes of several isomers of interest both in astrophysics and applied physics (e.g. 235U, 193Ir, and 87Y,88Y). We consider six possible electromagnetic processes, namely, photo-absorption, inverse internal convers…
The maximum achievable temperature (energy density) and minimum kinetic energy required for the formation of a baryon-rich quark-gluon plasma formed at central rapidity in small impact parameter nuclear collisions is estimated. A possible mechanism leading to the pile-up of matter is introduced. Plasma formation is expected to appear at about 15 GeV/Nucleon uranium beam energy on a stationary target or 2.7 GeV/Nucleon in colliding beams.
The influence of the stellar plasma on the production and destruction of K-isomers is studied for the examples 176Lu and 180Ta. Individual electromagnetic transitions are enhanced predominantly by nuclear excitation by electron capture, whereas the other mechanisms of electron scattering and nuclear excitation by electron transition give only minor contributions. It is found that individual transitions can be enhanced significantly for low transition energies below 100 keV. Transitions with higher energies above 200 keV are practically not affected. Although one low-energy transition in 180Ta …
The physics of nuclear reactions in stellar plasma is reviewed with special emphasis on the importance of the velocity distribution of ions. Then the properties (density and temperature) of the weak-coupled solar plasma are analysed, showing that the ion velocities should deviate from the Maxwellian distribution and could be better described by a weakly-nonexstensive (|q-1|<0.02) Tsallis' distribution. We discuss concrete physical frameworks for calculating this deviation: the introduction of higher-order corrections to the diffusion and friction coefficients in the Fokker-Plank equation, the …
The process of nuclear excitation by electron capture in plasma environments generated by the interaction of ultra-strong optical lasers with solid-state samples is investigated theoretically. With the help of a plasma model we perform a comprehensive study of the optimal parameters for most efficient nuclear excitation and determine the corresponding laser setup requirements. We discern between the low-density plasma regime, modeled by scaling laws, and the high-density regime, for which we perform particle-in-cell calculations. As nuclear transition case study we consider the 4.85 keV nuclea…
At high temperatures and densities the nuclear matter undergoes a phase transition to a new state of matter called quark gluon plasma (QGP). This new state of matter which existed in the universe after a few microsecond of the big bang can be created in the laboratory by colliding two nuclei at relativistic energies. In this presentation we will discuss how the the properties of QGP can be extracted by analyzing the spectra of photons, dileptons and heavy flavours produced in nuclear collisions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies.
The optimal parameters for nuclear excitation by electron capture in plasma environments generated by the interaction of ultra-strong optical lasers with solid matter are investigated theoretically. As a case study we consider a 4.85 keV nuclear transition starting from the long-lived $^{93\mathrm{m}}$Mo isomer that can lead to the release of the stored 2.4 MeV excitation energy. We find that due to the complex plasma dynamics, the nuclear excitation rate and the actual number of excited nuclei do not reach their maximum at the same laser parameters. The nuclear excitation achievable with a hi…
In high-energy nuclear collisions, the new phase of the quark-gluon plasma is indicated by an anomalous increase in pressure, an excess of direct photon production, an excess of strangeness production, and an anomalous J/psi suppression. We review these signatures and discuss how recent high-energy heavy-ion experiments at CERN are consistent with the production of the quark-gluon plasma in high-energy Pb+Pb collisions.
X-ray assisted nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC) into inner-shell atomic holes in a plasma environment generated by strong optical lasers is investigated theoretically. The considered scenario involves the interaction of a strong optical laser with a solid-state nuclear target leading to the generation of a plasma. In addition, intense x-ray radiation from an X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) produces inner-shell holes in the plasma ions, into which NEEC may occur. As case study we consider the $4.85$-keV transition starting from the 2.4 MeV long-lived $^{\mathrm{93m}}$Mo isomer tha…
We estimate the probability that a hard nucleon-nucleon collision is able to nucleate a seed of quark--gluon plasma in the surrounding hot and dense hadronic matter formed during a central collision of two large nuclei at AGS energies. The probability of producing at least one such seed is on the order of 1-100\%. We investigate the influence of quark--gluon plasma formation on the observed multiplicity distribution and find that it may lead to noticable structure in the form of a bump or shoulder.
The standard theory of nuclear fusion rates in a strongly interacting plasma can be (correctly) derived only when the energy release, Q, is large compared to other energies in the problem. We exhibit a result for rates that provides a basis for calculating the finite Q corrections. Crude estimates indicate a significant defect in the conventional results for some regions of high density and strong plasma coupling. We also lay some groundwork for a path integral calculation of the new effects.
The problem of determining the effects of the surrounding plasma on nuclear reaction rates in stars is formulated ab initio, using the techniques of quantum statistical mechanics. We derive a result that expresses the complete effects of Coulomb barrier penetration and of the influence of the surrounding plasma in terms of matrix elements of well defined operators. We find that possible "dynamical screening" effects that have been discussed in the literature are absent. The form of our results suggests that an approach that relies on numerical calculations of the correlation functions in a cla…
We use effective field theory and thermal field theory to study the dynamical screening effect in the QED plasma on the $α$-$α$ scattering at the $^8$Be resonance. Dynamical screening leads to an imaginary part of the potential which results in a thermal width for the resonance and dominates over the previously considered static screening effect. As a result, both the resonance energy and width increase with the plasma temperature. Furthermore, dynamical screening can have a huge impact on the $α$-$α$ thermal nuclear scattering rate. For example, when the temperature is around $10$ keV, the ra…
We examine the effects of color screening on the transition of a parton plasma into a hadron gas at RHIC energies. It is found that as expected, color screening posed itself as a significant barrier for hadronization. Parton-hadron conversion would therefore be delayed and prolonged when compared to that occuring in a vacuum. Due to the on-going expansion, the resulting hadron densities are lowered. Parton equilibration is also shown to be seriously disrupted in the process.
We investigate the compression of nuclear matter in relativistic hydrodynamics. Nuclear matter is described by a $σ-ω$--type model for the hadron matter phase and by the MIT bag model for the quark--gluon plasma, with a first order phase transition between both phases. In the presence of phase transitions, hydrodynamical solutions change qualitatively, for instance, one-dimensional stationary compression is no longer accomplished by a single shock but via a sequence of shock and compressional simple waves. We construct the analytical solution to the ``slab-on-slab'' collision problem over a ra…
We discuss scaling laws of fusion yields generated by laser-plasma interactions. The yields are found to scale as a function of the laser power. The origin of the scaling law in the laser driven fusion yield is derived in terms of hydrodynamic scaling. We point out that the scaling properties can be attributed to the laser power dependence of three terms: the reaction rate, the density of the plasma and the projected range of the plasma particle in the target medium. The resulting scaling relations have a predictive power that enables estimating the fusion yield for a nuclear reaction which ha…
This article illustrates how very small deviations from the Maxwellian exponential tail, while leaving unchanged bulk quantities, can yield dramatic effects on fusion reaction rates and discuss several mechanisms that can cause such deviations.
The experimental results on the pion, strangeness and J/psi production in high energy nuclear collisions are discussed. The anomalous energy dependence of pion and strangeness production is consistent with the hypothesis that a transition to a deconfined phase takes place between the top AGS (15 AGeV) and the SPS (200 AGeV) energies. The J/psi production systematics at the SPS can be understood assuming that the J/psi mesons are created at hadronization according to the available hadronic phase space. This new interpretation of the J/psi data allows one to establish a coherent picture of high …
A new Monte Carlo model of jet quenching in nuclear collisions, CUJET1.0, is applied to predict the jet flavor dependence of the nuclear modification factor for fragments {\it $f=π,D,B,e^-$} from quenched jet flavors {\it $g,u,c,b$} in central collisions at RHIC and LHC. The nuclear modification factors for different flavors are predicted to exhibit a novel level crossing pattern over a transverse momentum range $5< p_T< 100$ GeV which can test jet-medium dynamics in quark gluon plasmas.
Due to screening effects, nuclear reactions in astrophysical plasmas may behave differently than in the laboratory. The possibility to determine the magnitude of these screening effects in colliding laser-generated plasmas is investigated theoretically, having as a starting point a proposed experimental setup with two laser beams at the Extreme Light Infrastructure facility. A laser pulse interacting with a solid target produces a plasma through the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration scheme, and this rapidly streaming plasma (ion flow) impacts on a secondary plasma created by the interaction of…
We study the effects of the equation of state on the nuclear suppression of heavy flavours in quark gluon plasma and estimate the initial entropy density of the system produced at the highest RHIC energy. For this purpose we have used the experimental data on the charged particle multiplicity and the nuclear suppression of single electron spectra originating from the semi-leptonic decays of open charm and beauty mesons. We have used inputs from lattice QCD to minimize the model dependence of the results. We obtain the value of the initial entropy density which varies from 20 to 59 /fm$^3$ depe…
By minimizing free energy density, we show that the stellar core of a hydrogen burning star is not in a global thermodynamical equilibrium unless density, temperature, mass and composition assume given values. The core (as the solar interior) may be viewed more appropriately as a metastable state with very long lifetime. Slightly non-extensive distribution function could be the natural distribution for a weakly non-ideal plasma like a stellar core and represents a more appropriate approximation to this system than a Maxwellian distribution, without affecting bulk properties of stars.
Experimental results on azimuthal correlations in high energy nuclear collisions (nucleus-nucleus, proton-nucleus and proton-proton) seem to be well described by viscous hydrodynamics. It is often argued that this agreement implies either local thermal equilibrium or at least local isotropy. In this note, I present arguments why this is not the case. Neither local near-equilibrium nor near-isotropy are required in order for hydrodynamics to offer a successful and accurate description of experimental results. However, I predict the breakdown of hydrodynamics at momenta of order seven times the …
We study the evolution of full jet shower in quark-gluon plasma via solving a set of coupled differential transport equations for the three-dimensional momentum distributions of quarks and gluons contained in the full jets. In our jet evolution equations, we include all partonic splitting processes as well as the collisional energy loss and transverse momentum broadening for both the leading and radiated partons of the full jets. Combining with a realistic (2+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic simulation for the space-time profiles of the hot and dense nuclear medium produced in heavy-ion col…
Energy and momentum of the elementary excitations become independent variables in medium: energy and momentum statistical distributions are not identical. The momentum distribution and not the energy distribution is relevant for barrier penetration. The deviations of the momentum distribution from the Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution can be expressed in terms of the imaginary part of the self-energy of the quasi-particle. It is possible to obtain an effective Tsallis' distribution for the kinetic energy. These effects are different from static or dynamical screening and can have important…
