Experiments to Observe the Weibel Instability: The Origin of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglow

POSTER

Abstract

Recent theory suggest that the radiation signature of gamma ray burst afterglow may be the result of the interaction of ultrarelativistic electrons, ejected from supernova shocks, with small-scale magnetic fields. These tiny ``tangled'' magnetic fields are thought to be created by the two-stream filamentation instability, or Weibel Instability, of the beaming electrons. Using the Hercules laser facility at the University of Michigan, we are conducting an experiment to create an electron beam by the laser wakefield technique, produce such filaments by passing the electron beam through another plasma, and image the resulting structure. This experiment provides one of the first direct observations of Weibel filamentation in a relativistic electron beam.

Authors

  • Channing Huntington

    University of Michigan, AOSS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Takeshi Matsuoka

    University of Michigan, FOCUS Center, CUOS, U. of M., FOCUS Center and CUOS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Univ., USA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Christopher McGuffey

    University of Michigan, FOCUS Center and CUOS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Anatoly Maksimchuk

    University of Michigan, FOCUS Center and CUOS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Victor Yanovsky

    University of Michigan, FOCUS Center and CUOS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Karl Krushelnick

    University of Michigan, FOCUS Center and CUOS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Tom Katsouleas

    University of Southern California

  • Mikhail Medvedev

    University Of Kansas, University of Kansas

  • Luis Silva

    Instituto Superior T\'ecnico, Portuagal, GoLP, GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal, GoLP/IPFN, Instituto Superior T\'ecnico, Portugal, GoLP/IPFN - Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal, GoLP/IPFN, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal, Instituto Superior Tecnico

  • Warren Mori

    University of California Los Angeles, UCLA, Polymath Research Inc., University of California, Los Angeles

  • R. Bingham

    Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Rutherford Laboratory

  • R. Paul Drake

    University of Michigan, Univ. of Michigan, AOSS, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor