Fermi acceleration tagged posts

(Photo by Elle Starkman) PPPL physicist Will Fox

Lasers that generate plasma can provide insight into bursts of subatomic particles that occur in deep space, scientists have found. Such findings could help scientists understand cosmic rays, solar flares and solar eruptions – emissions from the sun that can disrupt cell phone service and knock out power grids on Earth.

Physicists have long observed that particles like electrons and atomic nuclei can accelerate to extremely high speeds in space. Researchers believe that processes associated with plasma, the hot fourth state of matter in which electrons have separated from atomic nuclei, might be responsible...