A research group led by Associate Professor Tatsuya Kobayashi, Assistant Professor Mikiro Yoshinuma, and Professor Katsumi Ida of the National Institute for Fusion Science (Toki City, Gifu Prefecture) has achieved a high-speed measurement of plasma distribution in phase-space using a data analysis method called phase-space tomography*1. Phase-space is expressed in terms of the coordinates of the position and velocity of plasma particles. Distortion of the plasma phase-space distribution can occur in high-temperature plasmas and is believed to have a significant impact on plasma performance. The research group conducted spectroscopic measurements to analyze the light emitted from plasma using three different types of devices, and measured the distortion of the plasma phase-space distribution with high precision, using phase-space tomography. They also found that the distortion is the result of efficient plasma heating mediated by waves. Observation of plasma phase-space distribution is an important theme not only in fusion plasmas but also in plasma research on celestial bodies, the sun, and auroras, and is expected to have a ripple effect.

In a paper published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Concordia researchers describe how they gathered useful data from a group of people living in extreme conditions, as well as the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned. 

Their subjects were members of an expedition organized by Spéléo Québec that was exploring a cave complex in the Sierra Negra Mountain, about 300 kilometres southeast of Mexico City. The researchers joined them halfway through a three-week mission. The cavers experienced daily physical exertion, isolation and spartan hygiene and sleeping quarters — a far cry from the strict parameters involved in orthodox lab work.