High-power laser experiment forming a supercritical collisionless shock in a magnetized uniform plasma at rest

Kavli Affiliate: T. Higuchi

| First 5 Authors: Ryo Yamazaki, S. Matsukiyo, T. Morita, S. J. Tanaka, T. Umeda

| Summary:

We present a new experimental method to generate quasi-perpendicular
supercritical magnetized collisionless shocks. In our experiment, ambient
nitrogen (N) plasma is at rest and well-magnetized, and it has uniform mass
density. The plasma is pushed by laser-driven ablation aluminum (Al) plasma.
Streaked optical pyrometry and spatially resolved laser collective Thomson
scattering clarify structures of plasma density and temperatures, which are
compared with one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is indicated
that just after the laser irradiation, the Al plasma is magnetized by
self-generated Biermann battery field, and the plasma slaps the incident N
plasma. The compressed external field in the N plasma reflects N ions, leading
to counter-streaming magnetized N flows. Namely we identify the edge of the
reflected N ions. Such interacting plasmas is forming a magnetized
collisionless shock.

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