Thomson scattering from high-temperature high-density plasmas revisited

TL;DR

This paper revisits the theory of Thomson scattering in high-temperature, high-density plasmas, addressing subtle effects like relativistic corrections, dielectric effects, and volume effects to improve plasma diagnostics accuracy.

Contribution

It provides a unified theoretical framework that incorporates three subtle effects, enhancing the understanding of Thomson scattering in extreme plasma conditions.

Findings

Relativistic correction significantly affects plasma parameter inference.

Dielectric effects influence scattering spectra at high densities.

Finite volume effects are negligible for large scattering volumes.

Abstract

The theory of Thomson scattering from high-temperature high-density plasmas is revisited from the view point of plasma fluctuation theory. Three subtle effects are addressed with a unified theory. The first is the correction of the first order of $v/c$, where $v$ is the particle velocity and $c$ is the light speed, the second is the plasma dielectric effect, and the third is the finite scattering volume effect. When the plasma density is high, the first effect is very significant in inferring plasma parameters from the scattering spectra off electron plasma waves. The second is also be notable but less significant. When the size of the scattering volume is much larger than the probe wavelength, the third is negligible.