Experimental study of the dynamics of expanding magnetized HED plasmas

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic field dynamics and its coupling with HED plasmas play a key role in magnetized fusion schemes, magnetic reconnection, and laboratory astrophysics experiments. The understanding of magnetic field transport properties in HED plasma is thus a primary goal for these applications. We present recent experiments designed to study cross-field transport in magnetized HED plasmas at the OMEGA laser facility, generated by expanding a laser-produced plasma into a background magnetic field and observing the expansion and collapse dynamics of the associated diamagnetic bubble. A laser-ablated plasma expanded into a pre-existing magnetic field powered by MIFEDS. The evolution of the 2D global topology of the magnetic fields was imaged with proton radiography by 3 and 15 MeV protons, acquired at different plasma expansion times. The interactions were explored for different laser energies and target orientations relative to initial field. The corresponding local electron temperature and density were measured with 2$\omega $ Thomson scattering.

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Authors

  • Sophia Malko

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • D.B. Schaeffer

    Princeton University, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA, Princeton, University of California, Los Angeles, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, Princeton University, Princeton Center for Heliophysics

  • W Fox

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PPPL

  • Gennady Fiksel

    University of Michigan, Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, U. Michigan, Univ of Michigan - Ann Arbor

  • Amitava Bhattacharjee

    Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Anatoly Spitkovsky

    Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University

  • Patrick Knapp

    Sandia National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories

  • J.R. Davies

    Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester, LLE, LLE, Univ. Rochester, USA, University of Rochester, U. of Rochester, NY, LLE, UR, USA