First Experiments on Laser-Driven Magnetized Collisionless Shocks on Z

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetized collisionless shocks are formed when a super-magnetosonic flow encounters a magnetic obstacle, and so a shockwave forms on length scales much shorter than the particle mean free path. Recent laboratory experiments have demonstrated the ability to drive magnetized collisionless shocks [1-2], but the exact mechanisms of particle heating and large-scale shock dynamics remain open questions due to the limited domain sizes of previous experiments. We have developed a new experimental platform, MagShockZ, to study high-Mach-number magnetized collisionless shocks over large domains on the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories by combining a pulsed-power-driven exploding wire array and a laser-driven magnetic piston. We present results and associated MHD and kinetic numerical modeling from the first MagShockZ experiment. The results indicate the successful creation of a super-Alfvenic laser-driven piston, strong ion-scale density compressions, and strong ion heating.

[1] Schaeffer, et al., PRL 119, 025001 (2017)

[2] Schaeffer, et al., PRL 122, 245001 (2019)

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Presenters

  • David Schneidinger

    University of California, Los Angeles

Authors

  • David Schneidinger

    University of California, Los Angeles

  • Hannah R Hasson

    Sandia National Laboratories

  • Katherine Chandler

    Sandia National Laboratories

  • Matthew R Trantham

    University of Michigan

  • Frances Kraus

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Mirielle H Wong

    University of Michigan

  • Philip W Moloney

    Imperial College London

  • Jacob Evans

    University of California, Los Angeles

  • Sophia Tsoukalas

    University of California, Los Angeles

  • Patrick Hartigan

    Rice University

  • Jeremy P Chittenden

    Imperial College London

  • Sergey V Lebedev

    Imperial College London

  • Carolyn C Kuranz

    University of Michigan, OCC

  • Derek B Schaeffer

    University of California, Los Angeles