Viscosity of the magnetized strongly coupled one-component plasma

Area of Science:

• Plasma physics
• Statistical mechanics
• Computational physics

Background:

• The behavior of magnetized plasmas is crucial in astrophysics and fusion energy research.
• Understanding plasma transport properties, like viscosity, is essential for modeling complex plasma phenomena.
• The interplay between Coulomb interactions and magnetic fields complicates viscosity calculations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute the viscosity tensor of a magnetized one-component plasma.
• To investigate the influence of varying Coulomb coupling and magnetization strengths on plasma viscosity.
• To elucidate the kinetic and potential energy contributions to viscosity coefficients.

Main Methods:

• Utilized equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.
• Applied Green-Kubo relations to calculate viscosity coefficients.
• Analyzed a wide range of Coulomb coupling and magnetization strengths.

Main Results:

• Magnetization strongly affects shear viscosity when gyrofrequency exceeds Coulomb collision frequency.
• Identified three distinct regimes based on Coulomb coupling and magnetization strength.
• Shear viscosity coefficients merge to a common value at strong Coulomb coupling, regardless of magnetic field orientation.

Conclusions:

• Plasma viscosity is highly sensitive to magnetization under specific conditions.
• The study provides a detailed breakdown of kinetic and potential energy contributions to viscosity.
• Findings offer insights into the behavior of strongly coupled, magnetized plasmas.