Modeling multidimensional effects in the propagation of radiative shocks

Journal Article · Wed Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2366544· OSTI ID:20860398

Leygnac, Sebastien; Boireau, Laurent; Michaut, Claire; Lanz, Thierry; Stehle, Chantal; Clique, Christine; Bouquet, Serge ^[1]

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1. School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin (Ireland) and Laboratoire de l'Univers et ses Theories, Observatoire de Paris, Paris (France) and Laboratoire de l'Univers et ses Theories, Observatoire de Paris, Paris (France) and Departement de Physique Theorique et Appliquee, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Bruyeres-Le-Chatel, France and Laboratoire de l'Univers et ses Theories, Observatoire de Paris, Paris (France)

Radiative shocks (also called supercritical shocks) are high Mach number shock waves that photoionize the medium ahead of the shock front and give rise to a radiative precursor. They are generated in the laboratory using high-energy or high-power lasers and are frequently present in a wide range of astronomical objects. Their modelization in one dimension has been the subject of numerous studies, but generalization to three dimensions is not straightforward. We calculate analytically the absorption of radiation in a gray uniform cylinder and show how it decreases with {chi}R, the product of the opacity {chi} and of the cylinder radius R. Simple formulas, whose validity range increases when {chi}R diminishes, are derived for the radiation field on the axis of symmetry. Numerical calculations in three dimensions of the radiative energy density, flux, and pressure created by a stationary shock wave show how the radiation decreases with R. Finally, the bidimensional structures of both the precursor and the radiation field are calculated with time-dependent radiation hydrodynamics numerical simulations and the influence of two-dimensional effects on the electron density, the temperature, the shock velocity, and the shock geometry are exhibited. These simulations show how the radiative precursor shortens, cools, and slows down when R is decreased.

• OSTI ID: 20860398
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2366544; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ENERGY DENSITY
GEOMETRY
HYDRODYNAMICS
ION TEMPERATURE
LASERS
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
MACH NUMBER
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
OPACITY
PHOTOIONIZATION
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA SIMULATION
PRECURSOR
RADIATION TRANSPORT
SHOCK WAVES
SYMMETRY
TIME DEPENDENCE