Numerical simulations of laser-driven experiments of ion acceleration in stochastic magnetic fields
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- University of Rochester, NY (United States)
- University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
- Queens University Belfast (United Kingdom)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)
- GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany)
- California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA (United States)
- University of Oxford (United Kingdom); STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom)
- Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany)
- STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom)
- STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom); University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (United Kingdom)
- University of Chicago, IL (United States)
We present numerical simulations used to interpret laser-driven plasma experiments at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research. The mechanisms by which non-thermal particles are accelerated in astrophysical environments, e.g., the solar wind, supernova remnants, and gamma ray bursts, is a topic of intense study. When shocks are present, the primary acceleration mechanism is believed to be first-order Fermi, which accelerates particles as they cross a shock. Second-order Fermi acceleration can also contribute, utilizing magnetic mirrors for particle energization. Despite this mechanism being less efficient, the ubiquity of magnetized turbulence in the universe necessitates its consideration. Another acceleration mechanism is the lower-hybrid drift instability, arising from gradients of both density and magnetic field, which produce lower-hybrid waves with an electric field that energizes particles as they cross these waves. With the combination of high-powered laser systems and particle accelerators, it is possible to study the mechanisms behind cosmic-ray acceleration in the laboratory. In this work, we combine experimental results and high-fidelity three-dimensional simulations to estimate the efficiency of ion acceleration in a weakly magnetized interaction region. We validate the FLASH magneto-hydrodynamic code with experimental results and use OSIRIS particle-in-cell code to verify the initial formation of the interaction region, showing good agreement between codes and experimental results. We find that the plasma conditions in the experiment are conducive to the lower-hybrid drift instability, yielding an increase in energy ΔE of ~ 264 keV for 242 MeV calcium ions.
- Research Organization:
- University of Rochester, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP); USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0002724; NA0003605; NA0003934; NA0004144; NA0004147; SC0021990
- OSTI ID:
- 2484198
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 31; ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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