Proposed Statement of Research David K. Geller Rice University

Dielectric Response of a Magnetized Fermi Gas

Strong magnetic fields arise in terrestrial as well as astrophysical plasmas: Observations of magnetic white dwarfs reveal surface field strengths in the range of $106$ -$ 109$Gauss,\; models\; for\; neutron\; star\; crusts\; and\; pulsar\; atmospheres\; yield\; fields\; on\; the\; order\; of$ 109$-$ 1012$$$G, and fields in laser plasmas and pulsed-power experiments typically exceed $106$G. Ionization processes, transport processes, and radiative pro cesses in such environments can be very dependent on the magnetic field's strength, and it is therefore important to understand the effect that a magnetic field has on the underlying, microscopic processes. The goal of my research is to first review and study the dielectric response function for a classical strongly magnetized plasma, and then to determine the clielectric response function for a strongly magnetized, but non-degenerate Fermi gas. This generalized response function will be used to deter mine the effect of the magnetic field on particle shielding (in this case, for a Fermi gas) which, in turn, will provide insight into the effect of a strong field on ioniza tion processes, particle scattering, transport phenomena, and free-free radiation (i.e. Bremsstrahlung).

Wednesday, 26-Mar-2003 22:07:46 CST
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