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Dr. Marian Lazar at COSPAR 2010
The Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is the biggest interdisciplinary conference on space science worldwide, and this year it took place in Bremen (July 18-25, 2010). A large number of technical exhibitions from space industry and research have also been associated to the scientific program.
The Research Department enabled the participation of Dr. Marian Lazar to this special event. He presented new kinetic models for the plasma waves and instabilities based on the existence of suprathermal populations in the solar environments: the corona, the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere. Waves and instabilities play an important role in the acceleration and general transport processes of electrons and ions in interplanetary space. Modeling deviations from Maxwellian equilibrium with suprathermal distributions of Kappatype provides better predictions and fits to the observations. This was a great opportunity to find an increasing interest and support for further analysis of these realistic models, but also to establish new valuable contacts.
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Edmund Schüngel at the ESCAMPIG in Novi Sad, Serbia
The cooperation between the group of Prof. Zoltan Donkó at the "Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics" in Budapest and the Chair of Plasma and Atomic Physics could be intensified by a research stay in Hungary, which was made possible by the Research Department Plasma.
The joint participation in the ESCAMPIG conference ("Europhysics Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases") offered the opportunity to collectively present the results obtained in the collaboration between Prof. Donkó's institute and the Chair of Experimental Physics V in Bochum. Through the joint conference contributions of Dr. J. Schulze from Prof. Donkó's group and myself ("The Electrical Asymmetry Effect in geometrically asymmetric discharges", "Charge dynamics in capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges", "Excitation dynamics in electrically asymmetric capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges - experiment, simulation, and model") the results of the RD Plasma cooperation were presented on an international level. The journey from Budapest was very economical, so that the low costs are justified by the necessity and importance of this presentation at an ESCAMPIG (13.07.2010 to 17.07.2010), which is strongly perceived in our field of work.
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RD Plasma zeigt starken Auftritt bei der PSE 2010
The Research Department "Plasmas with Complex Interactions" was represented at this year's 12th International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (PSE) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with no less than two invited lectures, which met with very great interest and resonance among the conference participants. The plenary lecture by Professor Achim von Keudell dealt with the tailoring of ion energy distribution functions and the controlled growth of aluminum oxide layers. The lecture by Professor Ralf Peter Brinkmann in the tutorial "Fundamentals and Trends of Plasma Surface Processing" dealt with more general aspects of modeling technical plasmas.
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Twelfth International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (PSE) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The Twelfth International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (PSE) was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from 13th to 17th July, 2010. The aim of the conference is to promote Fundamentals and applications of plasma and ion beam techniques in surface engineering. PSE was a great opportunity to present and observe recent progress in research and development and industrial applications. The topics span a wide range from fundamentals such as elementary plasma diagnostic, through empirical studies which establish the relationships between process parameters and the structural and functional properties of modified surfaces, towards the application in industrial production. It had two dedicated sessions for High Impulse Power Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS), where recent achievements in the field were presented. Prof. Dr. Achim Von Keudell and Dr. Ante Hecimovic attended the conference where they had a chance to find about the latest achievements in the field of plasma surface enfgineering, furthermore they made valuable contacts with experts from the field and agreed on future collaborations.
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Dr. Marian Lazar at SCOSTEP
This year (July 12-16), the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) has organized the twelfth in the series of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (STP) symposia in Berlin. SCOSTEP organizes exchange meetings and scientific programs in the solar-terrestrial environment. The current program is Climate andWeather in the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES), a scientific approach to understanding the short term (Space Weather) and long term (Space Climate) variability of the integrated solar-terrestrial environment, and for its societal applications; and CAWSES-II: Toward Solar Maximum runs from 2009 to 2013.
Dr. Marian Lazar attended this symposium taking opportunity to make valuable contacts and discuss on the present challenges in modeling the solar wind plasma turbulence, its potential drivers and the role played in the evolution of our space weather and the Earth’s climate. In coronal outflows and solar wind plasmas, the presence of interplanetary magnetic field and heat fluxes give rise to anisotropies of plasma particles, which quickly lead to the onset of plasma instabilities. Recent fundamental investigations of the kinetic instabilities (within the group of Prof. Reinhard Schlickeiser) create premises for a complete characterization and a deep understanding of their role in space plasma.
Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Berlin 2010
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Prof. von Keudell auf der Gordon Conference "Plasma Processing Science and Societal Grand Challenges"
Prof. Achim von Keudell war vom 11.-16. Juli 2010 bei der Gordon Conference "Plasma Processing Science and Societal Grand Challenges" im Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hamshire, USA.
At the beginning of the 21st century, humanity faces significant grand challenges in the areas of energy, human health, and environmental sustainability. Low temperature plasmas will at the heart of many key enabling technologies that are needed to provide solutions for these grand challenges. The 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Plasma Processing Science will feature a comprehensive program that will highlight the most cutting edge scientific advances in low temperature plasma science and will explore the applications of low temperature plasma technology relative to many grand societal challenges. Fundamental science sessions will focus on plasma kinetics, plasma surface interactions, and recent trends in plasma generation and multi-phase plasmas. Application sessions will explore the impact of plasma technology in renewable energy and the production of fuels from renewable feedstocks, plasma-enabled medicine and sterilization, and environmental remediation and waste treatment. The conference will bring together in an informal atmosphere leaders in the field with junior investigators and graduate students. The special format of the Gordon Conferences, with programmed discussion sessions and ample time for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, will provide for a fertile atmosphere of brainstorming and creative thinking among the attendees.
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Bochumer Plasmaforscher in Sheffield
The 1st International conference on HIPIMS was held in Sheffield, UK from 6th to 7th July, 2010. The aim of the conference is to promote High Impulse Power Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS), to provide a scientific forum for discussion of the fundamentals of plasma science and exchange new ideas of application of HIPIMS in industry. Main focus of the conference was on the topics such as generation of HIPIMS plasma, characterisation of Plasma and Coatings both in reactive and non-reactive HIPIMS processes and simulation of HIPIMS processes. Prof. Dr. Jörg Winter, Dr. Teresa de los Arcos, Dr. Ante Hecimovic, and Marina Prenzel attended the conference where they had a chance to find about the latest achievements in the field of HIPIMS, furthermore they made valuable contacts with experts from the field of HIPIMS and agreed on future collaboration that should bring the work on HIPIMS at RUB at the level with world leading laboratories.
International Conference on High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS)
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Bochumer Plasmaforscher auf der ICOPS
Professor Ralf Peter Brinkmann, Katharina Stapelmann und Benjamin Denis besuchten vom 20. bis 24. Juni 2010 die 37th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) in Norfolk, Virginia (USA). Auf der Konferenz konnten sie sich über verschiedene aktuelle Themen der Plasmasterilisation informieren sowie ihre Forschungsarbeiten zu diesem Thema anderen Forschern auf dem Gebiet durch einen Vortrag und ein Poster präsentieren. Die Konferenz war auf dem Gebiet der Plasmamedizin hochkarätig besetzt. Somit konnte der Forschungsstandort Bochum sowie das Research Department Plasmas with Complex Interactions und dessen Arbeit auf dem Gebiet der Plasmasterilisation international bekannter gemacht und vertreten werden. Zudem konnte die Kooperation mit der Gruppe von Mark Kushner (University of Michigan, USA) intensiviert werden. Der erste Besuch bei ihm konnte Anfang des Jahres dank des RD Plasma erfolgen. Zum einen konnten die Vorträge zu verschiedenen Themen der Plasmasimulation verfolgt werden, zum anderen durch verschiedene Gespräche mit einzelnen Forschern der Gruppe zukünftige Kooperationen besprochen werden.
37th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS)
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Bochumer Plasmaphysiker auf der EPS 2010
Several scientists of the Research Department "Plasmas with Complex Interaction" participated - partly in prominent positions - in the EPS Conference Plasma Physics in Dublin from June 21 - 24, 2010. The conference was attended by a total of about 500 participants, of which about a quarter contributed papers (about 25 talks and 120 posters) in the field of low temperature plasma physics. The other major areas covered by this meeting are fusion - both magnetic and inertial fusion - and the fundamentals of plasma physics, but in which astrophysical issues are also covered.
Prof. Uwe. Czarnetzki from the Institute of Experimental Physics V of the RUB was awarded the "Innovation Prize" of the EPS there and was able to present the underlying ideas of the "electrical asymmetry effect" in a plenary lecture. Prof. Padma Shukla with the topic "Quantum Plasmas" and Prof. Achim von Keudell were invited for further plenary lectures. The latter presented the state of research in the Research Department Plasma of the RUB in the field of "Physics of Microplasmas". Further participants were Prof. Jörg Winter, Prof. Henning Soltwisch, Dr. Volker Schulz-von der Gathen and Brankica Sikimic.
The technical breadth of the conference allowed new impulses to be taken up from previously unconsidered perspectives. In the field of low-temperature plasmas, the dusty or complex plasmas and the microplasmas were represented as focal points, but these were complemented by the magnetron and helicon discharges, which were also investigated in the Research Department. Another lecture presented current results of research within the Physics Department and the research group FOR1123 "Physics of Microplasmas" on the dependence of the concentrations of atomic oxygen and ozone on the flow rate through a microjet. This contribution fitted extremely well with the central theme of surface treatment with 'microjets'. Here, several presentations showed that ignorance of the species present in microjets leads to ambiguous results and evaluations in surface treatment. This is of particular relevance as one of the main applications of microplasmas is seen in the field of biomedicine. Another application area for atmospheric pressure microdischarges seems to be possible modifications of fluxes over surfaces, e.g. airfoils. This could lead to the improvement of flight characteristics, but also a reduction of engine noise.
Numerous discussions, especially at the posters, gave new impulses for our further approach both to the microplasma issue, which is currently central for us, and to new possible diagnostic methods that could be used within the Research Department Plasma.
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Dr. Ilija Stefanović's Visit to 20th ESCAMPIG
Dr. Ilija Stefanović from Research Department «Plasmas with Complex Interactions» has taken a part on 20th European Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases (ESCAMPIG XX), which was organized by the Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Serbia. The conference took place in Novi Sad, Serbia, on July 13 - 17, 2010.
Dr. Stefanović presented four posters with the results of activities in Research Department. Two different topics were in focus: dusty plasma afterglows (in collaboration with Prof. Nader Sadeghi from University Grenoble, France, Prof. Igor Denysenko from Harkov National University, Ukraine and Prof. Jürgen Röpcke from INP Greifswald) and microplasmas (in collaboration with Dr. Zoran Lj. Petrović and his group from Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Serbia). The ESCAMPIG conference is one of the most important European conferences of low-temperature plasma physics, which make it important forum for discussion with other colleagues from the same research field. Beside the presentation of the results of our Research Department, the intensive discussion on trends in low-temperature plasma physics took place as well as planning the future join activities. (Contributions to 20th ESCAMPIG could be found on http://www.escampig2010.ipb.ac.rs.)
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Dr. Horst Fichtner and Dr. Christian Schwarz at Swarthmore Collage
From June 9-11, 2010, the General Meeting of the Center of Magnetic Self-Organization (CMSO) has been held at Swarthmore Collage, near Philadelphia. From the Ruhr-University Bochum PD Horst Fichtner as representative of the "Research Group 1048: Cosmic Magnetic Fields") and Dr. Christian Schwarz of the "Research Department for Plasmas with Complex
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Jun.-Prof. Julia Becker at "Relativistic Whirlwind"
At the Relativistic Whirlwind conference (June 02-04, 2010) in Trieste, Italy, about 50 international scientists met to discuss the behavior of astrophysical plasmas in the vicinity of black holes. The conference has been held in honor of Prof. Dr. Marek Abramowicz, who turned 65 this year and has significantly shaped research in the field of black hole accretion. The conference featured a presentation by Jun-Prof Dr. Julia K. Becker, PI in the Research Department, on "Pinpointing Primordial Black Holes." Jun-Prof Becker has been working with Prof. Abramowicz on the topic of primordial black holes since 2007.