Pairing of charged particles in a quantum plasmoid

TL;DR

This paper investigates a quantum plasmoid with radial plasma oscillations, demonstrating that exchange of virtual acoustic waves can lead to attractive interactions and ion pairing, with potential applications in astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum model of a plasma-based spherical object and reveals a novel mechanism for ion pairing via acoustic wave exchange.

Findings

Attractive interaction between oscillating particles due to virtual acoustic waves

Formation of ion pairs in a quantum plasma environment

Potential relevance to astrophysical and terrestrial plasma phenomena

Abstract

We study a quantum spherically symmetric object which is based on radial plasma oscillations. Such a plasmoid is supposed to exist in a dense plasma containing electrons, ions, and neutral particles. The method of creation and annihilation operators is applied to quantize the motion of charged particles in a self-consistent potential. We also study the effective interaction between oscillating particles owing to the exchange of a virtual acoustic wave, which is excited in the neutral component of plasma. It is shown that this interaction can be attractive and result in the formation of ion pairs. We discuss possible applications of this phenomenon in astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas.