English

Precision mapping of laser-driven magnetic fields and their evolution in high-energy-density plasmas

Plasma Physics 2026-07-09 v1
Authors: Lan Gao , PM Nilson , IV Igumenshchev , MG Haines , DH Froula , R Betti , DD Meyerhofer
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Abstract

Magnetic fields generated by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability were measured in laser-accelerated planar foils using ultrafast proton radiography. Thin plastic foils were irradiated with ∼\sim4-kJ, 2.5-ns laser pulses focused to an intensity of ∼\sim1014^{14} W//cm2^{2} on the OMEGA EP Laser System. Target modulations were seeded by laser nonuniformities and amplified during target acceleration by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The experimental data show the hydrodynamic evolution of the target and MG-level magnetic fields generated in the broken foil. The experimental data are in good agreement with predictions from 2-D magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

Keywords

magnetic field generation Rayleigh-Taylor instability proton radiography high-energy-density plasma laser-plasma interaction magnetohydrodynamics

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.08680,
  title  = {Precision mapping of laser-driven magnetic fields and their evolution in high-energy-density plasmas},
  author = {Lan Gao and PM Nilson and IV Igumenshchev and MG Haines and DH Froula and R Betti and DD Meyerhofer},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.08680},
  year   = {2026}
}