Observation of magnetic field generation via the Weibel instability in interpenetrating plasma flows

Journal Article · Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Nature Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/NPHYS3178· OSTI ID:1170541

Huntington, C. M. ^[1]; Fiuza, F. ^[1]; Ross, J. S. ^[1]; Zylstra, A. B. ^[2]; Drake, R. P. ^[3]; Froula, D. H. ^[4]; Gregori, G. ^[5]; Kugland, N. L. ^[6]; Kuranz, C. C. ^[3]; Levy, M. C. ^[1]; Li, C. K. ^[2]; Meinecke, J. ^[5]; Morita, T. ^[7]; Petrasso, R. ^[2]; Plechaty, C. ^[1]; Remington, B. A. ^[1]; Ryutov, D. D. ^[1]; Sakawa, Y. ^[7]; Spitkovsky, A. ^[8]; Takabe, H. ^[7] ; Park, H. -S. ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
2. MIT (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology), Cambridge, MA (United States)
3. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences
4. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Physics Dept. and Lab. for Laser Energetics
5. Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physics
6. Lam Research Corp., Fremont, CA (United States)
7. Osaka Univ. (Japan). Inst. of Laser Engineering
8. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences

Collisionless shocks can be produced as a result of strong magnetic fields in a plasma flow, and therefore are common in many astrophysical systems. The Weibel instability is one candidate mechanism for the generation of su fficiently strong fields to create a collisionless shock. Despite their crucial role in astrophysical systems, observation of the magnetic fields produced by Weibel instabilities in experiments has been challenging. Using a proton probe to directly image electromagnetic fields, we present evidence of Weibel-generated magnetic fields that grow in opposing, initially unmagnetized plasma flows from laser-driven laboratory experiments. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that the instability effi ciently extracts energy from the plasma flows, and that the self-generated magnetic energy reaches a few percent of the total energy in the system. Furthermore, this result demonstrates an experimental platform suitable for the investigation of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including collisionless shock formation in supernova remnants, large-scale magnetic field amplification, and the radiation signature from gamma-ray bursts.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). High Energy Density Physics Div., Plasma Science and Fusion Center
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: NA0001857; NA0002035
• OSTI ID: 1170541
• Journal Information: Nature Physics, Vol. 11, Issue 2; ISSN 1745-2473
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY