Related papers: Plasmoid ejection and secondary current sheet gene…
Powerful laser-plasma processes are explored to generate discharge currents of a few $100\,$kA in coil targets, yielding magnetostatic fields (B-fields) in excess of $0.5\,$kT. The quasi-static currents are provided from hot electron…
Supplementing our STM and electron emission studies investigations, concluding in electron pairing in strong laser fields [1], further time-of-flight electron emission studies were carried out, changing the angle of polarization of the…
In models of fast magnetic reconnection, flux transfer occurs within a small portion of a current sheet triggering stored magnetic energy to be thermalized by shocks. When the initial current sheet separates magnetic fields which are not…
The interaction of the electromagnetic field with a two dimensional plasma sheet intended to describe the pi-electrons of a carbon nano-tube or a $C_{60}$ molecule is investigated. By integrating out first the displacement field of the…
Tearing instability, also known as plasmoid instability, is an effective mechanism to speed up magnetic reconnection process, working in a wide range of magnetized plasma systems with different spatial scales, ionization degrees, and…
We explore the possibility that extragalactic radio jets might be accelerated by highly disorganized magnetic fields that are strong enough to dominate the dynamics until the terminal Lorentz factor is reached. Following the twin-exhaust…
A new concept for generation of thrust for space propulsion is introduced. Energetic thrust is generated in the form of plasmoids (confined plasma in closed magnetic loops) when magnetic helicity (linked magnetic field lines) is injected…
We report on progress in the understanding of the effects of kilotesla-level applied magnetic fields on relativistic laser-plasma interactions. Ongoing advances in magnetic-field-generation techniques enable new and highly desirable…
Magnetic reconnection is a basic plasma process of dramatic rearrangement of magnetic topology, often leading to a violent release of magnetic energy. It is important in magnetic fusion and in space and solar physics --- areas that have so…
UV bursts are transients in the solar atmosphere with an increased impulsive emission in the extreme UV lasting for one to several tens of minutes. They often show spectral profiles indicative of a bi-directional outflow in response to…
In this article, we study the physics of charged particle energization inside a strongly turbulent plasma, where current sheets naturally appear in evolving large-scale magnetic topologies, but they are split into two populations of…
Reconnection of alternating magnetic fields is an important energy transformation mechanism in Poynting dominated outflows. We show that the reconnection is facilitated by the Kruskal-Schwarzschild instability of current sheets separating…
Recently much attention has being attracted to the problem of limitations on the attainable intensity of high power lasers [A.M. Fedotov {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{105}, 080402 (2010)]. The laser energy can be absorbed by…
Magnetic reconnection is ubiquitous in astrophysical systems, and in many such systems, the plasma suffers from significant cooling due to synchrotron radiation. We study relativistic magnetic reconnection in the presence of strong…
We carry out 3D and 2D PIC-simulations of the expansion of a magnetized plasma that initially uniformly fills a half-space and contains a semi-cylindrical region of heated electrons elongated along the surface of the plasma boundary. This…
As a new-generation light source, free-electron lasers (FELs) provide high-brightness X-ray pulses at the angstrom-femtosecond space and time scales. The fundamental physics behind the FEL is the interaction between an electromagnetic wave…
Plasma energization through magnetic reconnection in the magnetically-dominated regime featured by low plasma beta ($\beta = 8 \pi nkT_0/B^2 \ll 1$) and/or high magnetization ($\sigma = B^2/(4 \pi nmc^2) \gg 1$) is important in a series of…
The generation of energetic electron bunches by the interaction of a short, ultra-intense ($I>10^{19} \textrm{W/cm}^2$) laser pulse with "grating" targets has been investigated in a regime of ultra-high pulse-to-prepulse contrast…
Simulations of antiparallel reconnection have shown collimated electron jets outflowing from the x-point, and associated highly elongated "outer electron diffusion regions." New PIC simulations with ion/electron mass ratios as large as 1836…
Recently, magnetic reconnection, where a relativistically hot plasma is confined by a strong magnetic field, has received great attention in relation to astrophysical objects (e.g., pulsar magnetosphere and magnetar). However, reconnection…