A platform for high-repetition-rate laser experiments on the Large Plasma Device

D. B. Schaeffer,C. Niemann,L. R. Hofer,C. G. Constantin,P. V. Heuer,E. N. Knall

doi:10.1017/hpl.2018.11

D. B. Schaeffer, C. Niemann + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2018.11

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Abstract

We present a new experimental platform for studying laboratory astrophysics that combines a high-intensity, high-repetition-rate laser with the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. To demonstrate the utility of this platform, we show the first results of volumetric, highly repeatable magnetic field and electrostatic potential measurements, along with derived quantities of electric field, charge density and current density, of the interaction between a super-Alfvénic laser-produced plasma and an ambient, magnetized plasma.

Highlights

Large laser facilities, such as the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are often at the forefront of laser-driven laboratory astrophysics[1, 2], in which experiments seek to model astrophysical systems by scaling key dimensionless variables to the laboratory[3, 4]
The background magnetic field was B0 = 250 G and directed along z, and the ambient plasma was composed of H+1 with an initial electron density of ne0 ≈ 1.5×1013 cm−3, electron temperature Te0 ≈ 10 eV, and ion temperature Ti0 ≈ 1 eV
Localized, volumetric measurements of the plasma density and temperature can be acquired with Langmuir probes or Thomson scattering, both of which have previously been fielded on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) for laser experiments[22, 23]

Summary

Introduction

Large laser facilities, such as the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are often at the forefront of laser-driven laboratory astrophysics[1, 2], in which experiments seek to model astrophysical systems by scaling key dimensionless variables to the laboratory[3, 4]. We overview a new experimental platform at UCLA that combines the LAPD with a high-power, highrepetition-rate laser that is capable of on-target intensities in excess of 1014 W/cm. We overview a new experimental platform at UCLA that combines the LAPD with a high-power, highrepetition-rate laser that is capable of on-target intensities in excess of 1014 W/cm2 This platform allows new 3D volumetric data collection of the interaction between laserdriven plasma plumes and a magnetized ambient plasma. We present the first experimental results using this platform, and discuss its potential application to topics in laboratory astrophysics, including the study of both perpendicular and parallel low-Mach number magnetized shocks, the formation of magnetic instabilities and kinetic-scale magnetospheres

Experimental platform and setup

Results

Discussion and conclusions