Nuno F. G. Loureiro, Massachusetts Institute of Technology answers our questions about their work and Journal of Plasma Physics

JPP: What are you currently working on that you’d like to tell us about?

NL: Several interesting things going on; the most exotic is research at the interface of plasma physics and quantum computing, that is, exploring the potential of quantum computers (present and future) to solve plasma physics problems.

JPP: What are some of the challenges facing the field today?

NL: Some of the most interesting ideas that I have seen in the field in the last decade or so have resulted from combining results from seemingly distinct areas of research; or from the import of techniques from one area to another. However, as the field grows, I think there is a tendency to become ultra specialized, which threatens the chances for such cross-fertilization.

JPP: Why should authors publish in JPP?

NL: Other trade journals might be easier to publish in; authors for whom that’s the number one priority should perhaps look elsewhere. But for authors who seek intellectual rigor, I think JPP is the best-in-class. I think many of JPP’s published authors would agree that the value added to their papers via JPP’s editorial and refereeing processes is very significant.

JPP: What are your top 3 papers that were published in the journal last year?

NL: Triggering tearing in a forming current sheet with the mirror instability by Himawan W. Winarto, Matthew W. Kunz

Non-thermal particle acceleration from maximum entropy in collisionless plasmas by Vladimir Zhdankin

MHD turbulence: a biased review by Alexander A. Schekochihin