Postgraduate Study in the CFSA
General Information
The Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics invites applications for research studentships funded by STFC and EPSRC tenable from 1st October each year. Other starting dates might also be possible. For general information, see the Physics Department Graduate Admissions Pages and an application form. Applications should be always submitted through the form on the Department of Physics pages. For information on specific research projects, contact the Centre directors Sandra Chapman and Richard Dendy, or any of the CFSA staff concerned.
Research Opportunities within the Centre
The Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics offers a broad range of research projects in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Research at the centre focuses on plasma physics applied to the grand challenges of fusion power, space physics, solar physics, and astrophysics. Our work spans fundamental theory, observation, and the analysis of experimental data, combined with high performance computing.
For projects in the physics of magnetic and inertial fusion plasmas, two supervisors are typically involved: one based at Warwick, and one at leading international fusion research facilities, such as JET and MAST at CCFE Culham in Oxfordshire. CFSA staff have expertise in the theory of laser-plasma interaction physics, and in high energy density plasma physics. Both topics are central to achieving inertial fusion power.
The study of magnetohydrodynamic waves leads to the concept of MHD seismology, a novel technique for the remote measurement of plasma structures. Coronal seismology uses imaging and spectral data from the solar corona from current missions such as Hinode and SDO, and ground-based facilities. MHD wave modes and transient behaviour seen in JET and MAST are also used to probe the plasma within an operating tokamak.
The CFSA also specialises in complex systems approaches to astrophysical and fusion plasmas. The Centre has active collaborations through Warwick Complexity Complex. Intermittent plasma turbulence is studied in the solar wind through missions such as Cluster (on which the Centre has Co-Investigator status), WIND, ULYSSES and ACE which provide in-situ measurements; and also in the context of turbulent transport in fusion experiments, with data from JET and MAST at CCFE Culham.
Such phenomena present some of the key challenges to High Performance Computing, and CFSA develops codes that cover the full range of plasma behaviour found in fusion and in space plasmas. The CFSA has strong links with Warwick's Centre for Scientific Computing.
Research Projects Supervised by CFSA Staff
| Dr Tony Arber | Prof Sandra Chapman | Prof Richard Dendy | Dr Claire Foullon |
| Dr Dirk Gericke | Dr Bogdan Hnat | Prof Valery Nakariakov | Dr Erwin Verwichte |
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The latest generation of high power lasers is aiming at achieving a fusion detonation by imploding a pellet of deuterium and tritium. It is expected that the first laser initiated, controlled fusion in a laboratory will actually be achieved within the next few years. Despite this expected success there are still uncertainties regards key physics issues that must be addressed if the fusion program is to proceed. Most, if not all, of the theoretical problems can only be tackled by numerical simulations. Warwick has a suit of codes that deal with many of these problems. Possible projects in this area are: what is the fast electron temperature generated by laser interactions with solids; how can high energy ions be generated to ignited compressed fuel pellets or how do energetic electrons affect the thermal transport in a fusion target. These projects would therefore suit someone interested in laser-plasma physics, fusion research and high performance computing.
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The formation of sunspots and the emergence of magnetic fields through the solar surface into the corona are still not well understood. The magnetic field must be transported from regions of high pressure to regions of low pressure and density. In this transit they must also cross the chromospheres in which the effects of neutral hydrogen cannot be ignored. Warwick is pioneering the development of theories appropriate for the magnetic field transit of the chromospheres by including the effects of neutrals, the Hall term and modeling the sub-scale heating and transport processes. These projects will be of interest to someone with an interest in space plasma physics who also has an interest in large scale computation.
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The Effect of Heavy Ions on Cosmic Ray Acceleration at Supernova Remnant Shocks
For the first time, we are able, with recent Chandra observations, to resolve the structure and X ray emissions local to shocks at supernova remnants. This project will use insights from these and other observations to inform large scale numerical simulations of high Mach number shocks to understand the role of heavy ions in the acceleration of particles up to cosmic ray energies. The production of cosmic rays in the universe is a major unsolved problem in physics. There is also wider application in understanding heating in fusion plasmas in the presence of alpha particles.
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The Solar Wind as a Turbulence Laboratory
Turbulence is one of the 'grand challenges' in modern physics and the sun's expanding atmosphere, the solar wind, provides a unique laboratory for plasma turbulence. This project will develop and apply techniques to quantify the properties of solar wind turbulence, using in- situ satellite observations, and will lead to testing, and developing, our theoretical understanding.
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Complex Systems Approaches to Fusion Confinement Plasmas
Magnetically confined (tokamak) plasmas show highly nonlinear collective behaviour such as self organisation to enhanced confinement states and anomalous transport. This project aims to use ideas from the physics of complex systems to understand this phenomenology.
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Magnetically Confined Fusion Plasmas
A range of PhD projects in fusion plasma physics is available from CFSA in conjunction with the UK fusion research programme at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire. The projects span theory, modelling, interpretation, and experiment. Joint supervision for these PhD projects will be provided by Warwick staff and Culham scientists. I lead the Theoretical Physics Group at Culham, and am happy to facilitate links between prospective PhD students and the wider fusion programme. My own research interests reflect those of CFSA; in conjunction with Warwick staff, I have supervised eight PhD students during the past half-dozen years.
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Multi-spacecraft investigations of solar and heliospheric plasmas
Heliophysics is in its golden age, with an unprecedented number of satellites providing observations of unparallel quality, either (remotely) of the Sun or (in-situ) of the solar wind. The project will be to investigate plasma and dynamical properties using the complementarity of multi-spacecraft observations. The objective is to reveal phenomena and unravel the physics governing key regions of our Sun-Earth system in the chain of space weather events that can affect our radiation environment, our communication systems and our climate. This brand new PhD project will equip the student with skills suited to address future science with Solar Orbiter, the mission recently approved for launch by ESA. Please follow link on how to apply.
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X-Ray Scattering from Solid-Density Plasmas
The scattering of light by a sample (Thomson scattering) has proven to be a very effective tool to determine the plasma properties. Since high-density plasmas are opaque for visible light, X-rays must be used to probe the system. The project will deliver theoretical support for the diagnostics of experiments at RAL and other large laser facilities. The main task is to obtain reliable Thomson cross sections. This requires a novel description of strong correlations between the plasma particles and involves numerical simulations and analytical approaches.
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Interaction of Slow Ion Beams with Plasmas
Particles Beams are a prominent tool for heating and diagnosing matter with applications to inertial confinement fusion including novel concepts like fast ignition. Fast beams are well understood, but many questions remain open for slow ions. The project will concentrate on the description of the beam ion charge state and the ionization of plasma particles both requiring in-medium atomic physics. This theoretical project will have strong links to experimental groups using traditional accelarators (GSI, Tokio) and laser accelerated ions (LANL, Luli).
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Statistical Properties of Fusion Plasma Edge Turbulence
The heat and particle fluxes toward the material wall in an operating tokamak are often bursty and intermittent. Plasma edge turbulence is one of the ingredients of this complex behaviour. Understanding this process, its development and evolution under different operating regimes, is critical for designing of the future fusion reactors. It has been suggested, for example, that the higher confinement mode of the tokamak operation results from the suppression of edge turbulence. Experimental evidence suggests that statistical properties of edge plasmas are universal and scale invariant. The project explores characterisation of edge plasma fluctuations using statistical measures such as scaling exponents and probability density function invariance. The aim of the project is to develop a stochastic model for fluctuations in the observed edge plasma parameters.
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Passive Scalar Dynamics in MHD Turbulence
Passive scalar is an element of the fluid, say a contaminant, that has no dynamical effect on the flow. It is simply advected by the velocity field and diffused by molecular processes. In the case of complicated velocity field, such as that observed in turbulence, passive scalar dynamics and its statistical properties can be used to investigate the flow itself. This project will use numerical MHD simulation to study the dynamics and statistical properties of a passive scalar in 2D and 3D plasma flows. The aim of this investigation is to establish some universal features in the behaviour of passive scalars in different dimensions.
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This is a novel method for the remote diagnostics of astrophysical plasmas, in particular, in the atmosphere of the Sun. The project includes the analysis of observational data obtained with spaceborne (SDO, Hinode) and ground-based (Nobeyama Radioheliograph) instruments, searching for and studying wave and oscillatory phenomena in the solar atmosphere; forward modelling of observational signatures of these phenomena with the use of MHD theory; and the development and implementation of seismological techniques for the determination of physical characteristics of the oscillating plasma structures.
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Nonlinear MHD Waves in Plasma Structures
Astrophysical plasmas are seen to be highly structured in density, temperature, the magnetic field and steady flows. These structures are natural waveguides for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. Structuring of the medium brings a lot of interesting properties to the waves, including dispersion, mode coupling and enhanced dissipation. In some circumstances, the plasma can act as an active medium, amplifying the waves. The project aims the theoretical study of the interaction of finite amplitude MHD waves with structured plasmas, in particular to the effects of wave self-organisation and interaction and to negative energy wave phenomena.
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Transients in Magnetically Confined Plasmas
A central challenge for developing a fusion power plant is the stability of the fusion plasma. Hence, the understanding of the physical processes leading to instability in magnetically confined plasma is an essential part of fusion research. In this project, you shall study analytically and numerically the physics of transients such as sawtooth oscillations or edge localised modes. They are commonly observed in fusion devices. However, many basic questions remain. This project involves comparison with data from the JET and MAST fusion experiments.
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Diagnostics of Magnetically Confined Plasmas using MHD Waves
The signatures of MHD waves contain information of the plasmas through which they travel. By comparing theoretical predictions with measurements of MHD waves in fusion experiments, a method called MHD spectroscopy , knowledge about e.g. the magnetic profile, flows, and fast particle beams is extracted. In this project, you will develop analytical and numerical models for MHD waves in fusion devices and explore their diagnostic power. The project also involves comparisons of theoretical results with (and possibly interpretation of) data from the JET and MAST fusion experiments.
