(Quasi-)collisional Magneto-optic Effects in Collisionless Plasmas with sub-Larmor-scale Electromagnetic Fluctuations

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that small-scale electromagnetic fluctuations in collisionless plasmas induce effective collisional behavior, significantly impacting radiative transport and offering new diagnostic opportunities for plasma turbulence.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of quasicollisionality caused by sub-Larmor-scale magnetic fluctuations, linking stochastic electron deflections to effective collisional effects in collisionless plasmas.

Findings

Magnetic fluctuations induce effective collision frequencies comparable to Coulomb collisions.

Quasicollisional effects alter magneto-optic properties and radiative transport.

Potential for novel diagnostics of magnetic turbulence in plasmas.

Abstract

High-amplitude, chaotic/turbulent electromagnetic fluctuations are ubiquitous in high-energy-density laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, where they can be excited by various kinetic-streaming and/or anisotropy-driven instabilities, such as the Weibel instability. These fields typically exist on "sub-Larmor scales" -- scales smaller than the electron Larmor radius. Electrons moving through such magnetic fields undergo small-angle stochastic deflections of their pitch-angles, thus establishing diffusive transport on long time-scales. We show that this behavior, under certain conditions, is equivalent to Coulomb collisions in collisional plasmas. The magnetic pitch-angle diffusion coefficient, which acts as an effective "collision" frequency, may be substantial in these, otherwise, collisionless environments. We show that this effect, colloquially referred to as the plasma "quasicollisionality", may radically alter the expected radiative transport properties of candidate plasmas. We argue that the modified magneto-optic effects in these plasmas provide an attractive, novel radiative diagnostic tool for the exploration and characterization of small-scale magnetic turbulence, as well as affect inertial confinement fusion and other laser-plasma experiments.