Collisionless Shocks Driven by Supersonic Plasma Flows with Self-Generated Magnetic Fields
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Univ. of Bordeaux, Talence (France); Czech Academy of Sciences, Brezany (Czech Republic)
- Univ. of Bordeaux, Talence (France)
- National Research Nuclear Univ. MEPhI, Moscow (Russia); Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russia)
- Univ. di Roma “La Sapienza,” (Italy)
- Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
- École Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France)
- Osaka Univ. (Japan)
- Univ. of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in the Universe as a consequence of supersonic plasma flows sweeping through interstellar and intergalactic media. These shocks are the cause of many observed astrophysical phenomena, but details of shock structure and behavior remain controversial because of the lack of ways to study them experimentally. Laboratory experiments reported here, with astrophysically relevant plasma parameters, demonstrate for the first time the formation of a quasiperpendicular magnetized collisionless shock. In the upstream it is fringed by a filamented turbulent region, a rudiment for a secondary Weibel-driven shock. Furthermore, this turbulent structure is found responsible for electron acceleration to energies exceeding the average energy by two orders of magnitude.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0003539; 0002949; B63159; 57789
- OSTI ID:
- 1614557
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1545447
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 123, Issue 5; ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Experimental Observation of Ion–Ion Acoustic Instability Associated with Collisionless Shocks in Laser-produced Plasmas
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journal | September 2019 |
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