Laser-plasma experiments to study super high-energy phenomena during extreme compression of the Earth's magnetosphere by Coronal Mass Ejections*

Abstract

Problem of the global and even catastrophic modification of the Earth's magnetosphere (into Artificial one) by impulsive and huge plasma ejecta, was proposed for the first time during our study of possible after-effects of high-energy explosions against asteroids at near-Earth space. Later, a similar problem of extreme compression of the Earth's magnetopause from its usual Rmp ≈ 10RE up to new stand-off distance Rm* ∼ 3RE, by plasma of giant Coronal Mass Ejections (CME, with effective energy E0 ∼1028 J), was considered for its simulations by Laser-Produced Plasma (LPP) at KI-1 facility of ILP, that were done initially without “Solar Wind” (in AMEX experiment). Here we present the first results of the “full” laboratory simulations of the CME-problem with the up-stream impact of LPP (with E0 ∼ 1 kJ) onto classical terrella-model of “stationary” magnetopause (with Rmp ≈ 17 cm), formed near compact dipole in a flow of background H+-plasma, imitated Solar Wind. As a result, we have observed for the first time a two-fold compression of magnetopause size, accompanied by very strong and near expected value of dipole magnetic field's compression up to the factor 7÷8 ≈ (Rmp/Rm*)3 inside of magnetopause. Our data allow to predict a global CME-effect at E0∼1029J.