Laser astrophysics experiment on the amplification of magnetic fields by shock-induced interfacial instabilities
Abstract
Laser experiments are becoming established as a new tool for astronomical research that complements observations and theoretical modeling. Localized strong magnetic fields have been observed at a shock front of supernova explosions. Experimental confirmation and identification of the physical mechanism for this observation are of great importance in understanding the evolution of the interstellar medium. However, it has been challenging to treat the interaction between hydrodynamic instabilities and an ambient magnetic field in the laboratory. Here, we developed an experimental platform to examine magnetized Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI). The measured growth velocity was consistent with the linear theory, and the magnetic-field amplification was correlated with RMI growth. Our experiment validated the turbulent amplification of magnetic fields associated with the shock-induced interfacial instability in astrophysical conditions for the first time. Experimental elucidation of fundamental processes in magnetized plasmas is generally essential in various situations such as fusion plasmas and planetary sciences.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2108.11919,
title = {Laser astrophysics experiment on the amplification of magnetic fields by shock-induced interfacial instabilities},
author = {Takayoshi Sano and Shohei Tamatani and Kazuki Matsuo and King Fai Farley Law and Taichi Morita and Shunsuke Egashira and Masato Ota and Rajesh Kumar and Hiroshi Shimogawara and Yukiko Hara and Seungho Lee and Shohei Sakata and Gabriel Rigon and Thibault Michel and Paul Mabey and Bruno Albertazzi and Michel Koenig and Alexis Casner and Keisuke Shigemori and Shinsuke Fujioka and Masakatsu Murakami and Youichi Sakawa},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.11919},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
17 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in PRE