Andrei Maximov

Andrei Maximov

  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • Scientist, Laboratory for Laser Energetics

PhD, Mebedev Physics Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 1990

(585) 275-1440
amax@lle.rochester.edu


Research Overview

My research interests are mostly in the field of theoretical plasma physics. Plasma physics has been attracting scientists for a long time - for example, plasma discharges has been studied for more than a century. The invention of lasers started the studies of high-temperature plasmas that are generated by the interaction of high-intensity lasers with matter.

The Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester is one of the leading world research centers in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The laser-plasma interaction is important for ICF because it determines the coupling of laser power to the target. I have been interested in the propagation and absorption of laser light in the plasma corona and in the studies of waves and instabilities in laser-produced plasmas [1-3].

Plasma physics also studies the transport of heat by particles, and this is another area of my interest. The electron transport is a crucial part of ICF, because electrons can penetrate the dense core of the target where laser light can not reach. For example, the concept of fast ignition in ICF relies on the energy transport by hot relativistic particles, generated by ultra-high-intensity lasers.

Representative Publications

  1. "Modeling of stimulated Brillouin scattering near the critical-density surface in the plasmas of direct-drive inertial confinement fusion targets", Physics of Plasmas 11, 2994 (2004).
  2. "Plasma-induced smoothing of a spatially incoherent laser beam and reduction of backward stimulated Brillouin scattering", Physics of Plasmas 8, 1319 (2001).
  3. "Resonant instability of laser filaments in a plasma", Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 278 (2000).
  4. "Filamentation in recombination-controlled discharges", Physica Scripta 65, 263 (2002).
  5. "Spectral method simulations of light scattering by biological cells", IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics 37, 617 (2001).

 

Research Interests

  • Theoretical plasma physics
  • Inertial confinement fusion
  • High-energy-density physics