Energy absorption of quasineutral plasmas through electronic edge-modes

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electronic edge-modes in ultracold quasineutral plasmas lead to efficient energy absorption at the boundary, providing insights into plasma properties through experimental spectra analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a hydrodynamic and microscopic simulation-based explanation for boundary energy absorption via edge-modes in ultracold plasmas, unifying previous experimental observations.

Findings

Edge-modes cause significant energy absorption at plasma boundaries.

Theoretical models match experimental absorption spectra.

Understanding edge-modes aids in plasma diagnostics.

Abstract

Ultracold quasineutral plasmas generated in the laboratory are generically inhomogeneous and ex- hibit small charge imbalances. As will be demonstrated, via a hydrodynamic theory as well as microscopic simulations, the latter lead to efficient energy absorption at the plasma boundary. This proposed "edge-mode" is shown to provide a unified explanation for observed absorption spectra measured in different experiments. Understanding the response of the electronic plasma compo- nent to weak external driving is essential since it grants experimental access to the density and temperature of ultracold plasmas.