Consequences of an attractive force on collective modes and dust structures in a strongly coupled dusty plasma

We present an investigation of the combined effects of the Debye-Huckel (DH) repulsive and overlaping Debye spheres (ODS) attractive interaction potentials around charged dust particles on collective modes, phase separation and ordered dust structures in a strongly coupled dusty plasma. We obtain static and dynamical information via Molecular Dynamics simulations in the liquid and crystallized phases and identify the onset of an instability in the transverse collective mode, by using (zero-temperature) lattice summation method. The present results are useful for understanding the origin of coagulation/agglomeration of charged dust particles and the formation of ordered dust structures in low-temperature laboratory and space dusty plasmas

Photon acceleration in vacuum

A new process associated with the nonlinear optical properties of the electromagnetic vacuum, as predicted by quantum electrodynamics, is described. This can be called photon acceleration in vacuum, and corresponds to the frequency shift that takes place when a given test photon interacts with an intense beam of background radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, version to appear in Phys. Lett.

Nonlinear electromagnetic wave equations for superdense magnetized plasmas

By using the quantum hydrodynamic and Maxwell equations, we derive the generalized nonlinear electron magnetohydrodynamic, the generalized nonlinear Hall-MHD (HMHD), and the generalized nonlinear dust HMHD equations in a self-gravitating dense magnetoplasma. Our nonlinear equations include the self-gravitating, the electromagnetic, the quantum statistical electron pressure, as well as the quantum electron tunneling and electron spin forces. They are useful for investigating a number of wave phenomena including linear and nonlinear electromagnetic waves, as well as three-dimensional electromagnetic wave turbulence spectra and structures arising from mode coupling processes at nanoscales in dense quantum magnetoplasmas

Amplitude modulated drift wave packets in a nonuniform magnetoplasma

We consider the amplitude modulation of low-frequency, long wavelength electrostatic drift wave packets in a nonuniform magnetoplasma with the effects of equilibrium density, electron temperature and magnetic field inhomogeneities. The dynamics of the modulated drift wave packet is governed by a nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. The latter is used to study the modulational instability of a Stoke's wave train to a small longitudinal perturbation. It is shown that the drift wave packet is stable (unstable) against the modulation when the drift wave number lies in $0< k < 1/\sqrt{2}$ $(1/\sqrt{2}<k<1)$. Thus, the modulated drift wave packet can propagate in the form of bright and dark envelope solitons or as a drift wave rogon.Comment: 4 pages, 4figure

Quantum Vacuum Experiments Using High Intensity Lasers

The quantum vacuum constitutes a fascinating medium of study, in particular since near-future laser facilities will be able to probe the nonlinear nature of this vacuum. There has been a large number of proposed tests of the low-energy, high intensity regime of quantum electrodynamics (QED) where the nonlinear aspects of the electromagnetic vacuum comes into play, and we will here give a short description of some of these. Such studies can shed light, not only on the validity of QED, but also on certain aspects of nonperturbative effects, and thus also give insights for quantum field theories in general.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figur

Dynamics of broadband dispersive Alfven waves

The properties of amplitude modulated broadband Alfven waves is investigated. In particular, the dynamics of circularly polarized dispersive Alfven waves, governed by a derivative nonlinear Schroedinger equation, is analyzed using the Wigner formalism. The modulational instability of random phase dispersive pump Alfven waves is investigated, and it is shown that the spectral broadening gives rise to a new mode structure.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Solitary and blow-up electrostatic excitations in rotating magnetized electron-positron-ion plasmas

The nonlinear dynamics of a rotating magnetoplasma consisting of electrons, positrons and stationary positive ions is considered. The basic set of hydrodynamic and Poisson equations are reduced to a Zakharov-Kuznetsov (ZK) equation for the electric potential. The ZK equation is solved by applying an improved modified extended tanh-function method (2008 Phys. Lett. A 372 5691) and its characteristics are investigated. A set of new solutions are derived, including localized solitary waves, periodic nonlinear waveforms and divergent (explosive) pulses. The characteristics of these nonlinear excitations are investigated in detail

Farmer typology to understand differentiated climate change adaptation in Himalaya

Smallholder farmers’ responses to the climate-induced agricultural changes are not uniform but rather diverse, as response adaptation strategies are embedded in the heterogonous agronomic, social, economic, and institutional conditions. There is an urgent need to understand the diversity within the farming households, identify the main drivers and understand its relationship with household adaptation strategies. Typology construction provides an efficient method to understand farmer diversity by delineating groups with common characteristics. In the present study, based in the Uttarakhand state of Indian Western Himalayas, five farmer types were identified on the basis of resource endowment and agriculture orientation characteristics. Factor analysis followed by sequential agglomerative hierarchial and K-means clustering was use to delineate farmer types. Examination of adaptation strategies across the identified farmer types revealed that mostly contrasting and type-specific bundle of strategies are adopted by farmers to ensure livelihood security. Our findings show that strategies that incurred high investment, such as infrastructural development, are limited to high resource-endowed farmers. In contrast, the low resourced farmers reported being progressively disengaging with farming as a livelihood option. Our results suggest that the proponents of effective adaptation policies in the Himalayan region need to be cognizant of the nuances within the farming communities to capture the diverse and multiple adaptation needs and constraints of the farming households. © 2019, The Author(s)