Observation of a Velocity Domain Cooling Instability in a Radiative Shock

Journal Article · Fri Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.105.205003· OSTI ID:21541706

Hohenberger, M; Lazarus, J; Doyle, H W; Carley, R E; Smith, R A ^[1]; Symes, D R; Notley, M M; Clarke, R J; Dunne, M ^[2]; Moore, A S; Gumbrell, E T ^[3]

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1. Laser Consortium, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ (United Kingdom)
2. Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
3. Plasma Physics Division, AWE Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4PR (United Kingdom)

We report on experimental investigations into strong, laser-driven, radiative shocks in cluster media. Cylindrical shocks launched with several joules of deposited energy exhibit strong radiative effects including rapid deceleration, radiative preheat, and shell thinning. Using time-resolved propagation data from single-shot streaked Schlieren measurements, we have observed temporal modulations on the shock velocity, which we attribute to the thermal cooling instability, a process which is believed to occur in supernova remnants but until now has not been observed experimentally.

• OSTI ID: 21541706
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 20; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.205003; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
LASERS
MODULATION
PLASMA INSTABILITY
RADIATIVE COOLING
SHOCK HEATING
SHOCK WAVES
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
TIME RESOLUTION
CONFIGURATION
COOLING
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DATA
HEATING
INFORMATION
INSTABILITY
NUMERICAL DATA
PLASMA HEATING
RESOLUTION
TIMING PROPERTIES