REVERSE RADIATIVE SHOCK LASER EXPERIMENTS RELEVANT TO ACCRETING STREAM-DISK IMPACT IN INTERACTING BINARIES
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
- CEA-DAM-DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France)
- Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States)
We present the first results from high-energy-density laboratory astrophysics experiments that explore the hydrodynamic and radiative properties of a reverse shock relevant to a cataclysmic variable system. A reverse shock is a shock wave that develops when a freely flowing, supersonic plasma is impeded. In our experiments, performed on the Omega Laser Facility, a laser pulse is used to accelerate plasma ejecta into a vacuum. This flow is directed into an Al plate in front of which a shock forms in the rebounding plasma. The plasma flow is moving fast enough that it is shocked to high enough temperatures that radiative cooling affects the shock structure. These are the first experiments to produce a radiative reverse shock wave.
- OSTI ID:
- 22078357
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 762, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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