Jürgen Meyer-ter-Vehn (born 16 February 1940 in Berlin, Germany) is a German theoretical physicist who specializes in laser-plasma interactions at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics.
Meyer-ter-Vehn's work involved examining the physical principles of inertial fusion with lasers and heavy ion beams.
[2][3] In the 2000s, he dealt with relativistic laser-plasma interaction (where, for example, due to the relativistic increase in mass, new effects occur such as induced transparency and self-focusing with channel formation)[4][5] and with the formation of plasma blocks by ultra-short terawatt laser pulses for laser fusion (fast ignition).
[9] In 2009, he received the Hannes Alfvén Prize from the European Physical Society for "his seminal theoretical work in the fields of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), relativistic laser–plasma interaction and laser wakefield electron acceleration".
The physics of inertial fusion : beam plasma interaction, hydrodynamics, hot dense matter.