Counter-streaming Plasma Flows Research Articles

Experimental evidence of early-time saturation of the ion-Weibel instability in counterstreaming plasmas of CH, Al, and Cu.

The collisionless ion-Weibel instability is a leading candidate mechanism for the formation of collisionless shocks in many astrophysical systems, where the typical distance between particle collisions is much larger than the system size. Multiple laboratory experiments aimed at studying this process utilize laser-driven (I≳10^{15} W/cm^{2}), counterstreaming plasma flows (V≲2000km/s) to create conditions unstable to Weibel-filamentation and growth. This technique intrinsically produces temporally varying plasma conditions at the midplane of the interaction where Weibel-driven B fields are generated and studied. Experiments discussed herein demonstrate robust formation of Weibel-driven B fields under multiple plasma conditions using CH, Al, and Cu plasmas. Linear theory based on benchmarked radiation-hydrodynamic FLASH calculations is compared with Fourier analyses of proton images taken ∼5-6 linear growth times into the evolution. The new analyses presented here indicate that the low-density, high-velocity plasma-conditions present during the first linear-growth time (∼300-500ps) sets the spectral characteristics of Weibel filaments during the entire evolution. It is shown that the dominant wavelength (∼300μm) at saturation persists well into the nonlinear phase, consistent with theory under these experimental conditions. However, estimates of B-field strength, while difficult to determine accurately due to the path-integrated nature of proton imaging, are shown to be in the ∼10-30T range, an order of magnitude above the expected saturation limit in homogenous plamas but consistent with enhanced B fields in the midplane due to temporally varying plasma conditions in experiments.

Numerical simulation on the formation and merging of ablation plasma in two exploding aluminum wires

In this paper, computational results characterizing the formation and merging of counter-streaming interpenetrating plasma flows formed in exploding double parallel aluminum wires are presented. A radial magnetohydrodynamic computation is carried out first to obtain the parameters of core-corona structure in individual wires, providing an initial condition for the planar magnetohydrodynamic model in a multi-species fluids scheme with two-temperature treatment of plasma. In the XY plane, two aluminum plasma clouds are surrounded by extremely thin air, which represents a vacuum environment. A long-lasting compressed layer of extremely thin air in the central region of the inter-wire gap is formed before the merger of aluminum plasma flows. The accordance between the increasing mass fraction of aluminum plasma species in the central slit and the enhancement in self-emission light demonstrates that the real physical characteristics of extremely low-density vacuum environment plays an important role in merger of aluminum plasma flows. Current density is concentrated in the central column during the merging process of counter-streaming interpenetrating aluminum plasma flows, evolving from a structure of bifurcated current sheets into a single narrow sheet. Efficient numerical investigation on the interaction between counter-streaming plasma flows requires the incorporation of surrounding fluid species of extremely thin air.

Distinguishing and diagnosing the spontaneous electric and magnetic fields of Weibel instability through proton radiography

The Weibel instability, a subject of relevance to many fields of physics ranging from inertial confinement fusion to some astrophysical scenarios, is usually probed with side-on proton radiography. In order to diagnose the strength and wavelength of the spontaneous fields, two concerns that must be settled are how to distinguish the coexisting electric and magnetic fields, and how to overcome the counteracting of deflections in radiographing the filamentary structured fields. In this paper, proton radiography of the Weibel instability in two counterstreaming plasma flows is studied by simulation. It suggests that the electric field dominates the deflection of probe protons, whereas the contribution from the magnetic field is negligible. To resolve the deflection-counteracting problem, the spatial spectrum of the electric field energy is found to be related to the deflection velocity of the probe beam by theoretical analyses. The strength and wavelength of the electric field are then obtainable from the proton flux on the detection plane, whereas the strength and wavelength of the magnetic field can be deduced through the equilibrium between the electric field and the magnetic field pressure gradient after the linear growth stage of the instability. Both numerical and experimental verifications suggest that our method performs well in extracting the strength and wavelength of the spontaneous electric and magnetic fields of the Weibel instability from proton radiography.

Direct measurements of counter-streaming flows in a low-shear stellarator magnetic island topology

We report on the first experimental verification of theoretically predicted multiple bundles of counter-streaming plasma flows in the island-divertor scrape-off layer (SOL) of the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X. In the standard toroidal field direction (counter-clockwise when looking from the top) experiments, the overall structure of the SOL flows, such as flow directions, the number of flow bundles and the magnitude of the flow velocities, are consistent with numerical predictions obtained with EMC3-EIRENE. However, the modelling does not predict changes of the flow patterns with reversal of the magnetic field direction, which are experimentally observed. This indicates that additional relevant physics, such as particle drifts, will need to be incorporated into the numerical model to better describe the whole stellarator scrape-off layer behaviour.

Deflection effect of electromagnetic field generated byWeibel instability on proton probe

<sec> The electric and magnetic fields generated by the Weibel instability, most of which have a tube-like structure, are of importance for many relevant physical processes in the astrophysics and the inertial confinement fusion. Experimentally, proton radiography is a commonly used method to diagnose the Weibel instability, where the proton deflection introduced from the self-generated electric field is usually ignored. This assumption, however, is in conflict with the experimental observations by Quinn, Fox and Huntington, et al. because the magnetic field with a tube-like structure cannot introduce parallel flux striations on the deflection plane in the proton radiography.</sec><sec> In this paper, we re-examine the nature of the proton radiography of the Weibel instability numerically. Two symmetric counterstreaming plasma flows are used to generate the electron Weibel instability with the three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The proton radiography of the Weibel instability generated electric and magnetic fields are calculated with the ray tracing method. Three cases are considered andcompared: only the self-generated electric field <i>E</i> is included, only the self-generated magnetic field <i>B</i> is included, both the electric field <i>E</i> and magnetic field <i>B</i> are included.</sec><sec> It is shown that when only <i>E</i> is included, the probe proton flux density perturbation on the detection plane, i.e., δ<i>n</i>/<i>n</i><sub>0</sub>, is much larger than that when only <i>B</i> is included. Also, when both <i>E</i> and <i>B</i> are included, δ<i>n</i>/<i>n</i><sub>0</sub> is almost the same as that when only <i>E</i> is included. This suggests that in the proton radiography of the Weibel instability generated electric and magnetic fields, the deflection from the electric field dominates the radiography, whereas the magnetic field has an ignorable influence. Our conclusion is quite different from that obtained on the traditional assumption that the electric field is ignorable in the radiography. This mainly comes from the spatial structure of the Weibel instability generated magnetic field, which is tube-like and points to the azimuthal direction around the current filaments. When the probe protons pass through the field region, the deflection from the azimuthal magnetic field can be compensated for completely by itself along the passing trajectories especially if the deflection distance inside the field region is small. Whereas for the electric field, which is in the radial direction, the deflection to the probe protons will not be totally compensated for and will finally introduce an evident flux density perturbation into the detection plane. This understanding can beconducive to the comprehension of the experimental results about the proton radiography of the Weibel instability.</sec>

The formation and dissipation of electrostatic shock waves: the role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities

The role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities in the formation and dissipation of collisionless electrostatic shock waves driven by counter-streaming supersonic plasma flows has been investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The nonlinear evolution of unstable waves and ion velocity distributions has been analyzed in detail. It is found that for electrostatic shocks driven by moderate-velocity flows, longitudinal and oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can be excited in the downstream and upstream regions, which lead to thermalization of the transmitted and reflected ions, respectively. For high-velocity flows, oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can develop in the overlap layer during the shock formation process and impede the shock formation.

Laboratory study of astrophysical collisionless shock at SG-II laser facility

Astrophysical collisionless shocks are amazing phenomena in space and astrophysical plasmas, where supersonic flows generate electromagnetic fields through instabilities and particles can be accelerated to high energy cosmic rays. Until now, understanding these micro-processes is still a challenge despite rich astrophysical observation data have been obtained. Laboratory astrophysics, a new route to study the astrophysics, allows us to investigate them at similar extreme physical conditions in laboratory. Here we will review the recent progress of the collisionless shock experiments performed at SG-II laser facility in China. The evolution of the electrostatic shocks and Weibel-type/filamentation instabilities are observed. Inspired by the configurations of the counter-streaming plasma flows, we also carry out a novel plasma collider to generate energetic neutrons relevant to the astrophysical nuclear reactions.

Laboratory simulation of Hot Jupiters atmosphere expansion

Hot Jupiters (HJ) are exoplanets, gas giants with low orbits (≤ 0.1 a.u.). The stellar X-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) radiation energy deposition result in heating ionization and the consequent expansion of planetary atmosphere. Expansion of upper atmosphere under certain conditions could be so large that the majority of light atmospheric constituents overcome the gravitational binding and escape from the planet in a form of hydrodynamic wind. Besides interaction of two counter-streaming plasma flows (stellar wind and ionized upper layers of planet atmosphere), each of this flows interact with planetary magnetic field. In such complex situation laboratory simulation can provide data that can’t be obtained by computer simulation or observation. Experiment was carried out on KI-1 facility: high-vacuum chamber 5m long, 1.2 m in diameter with pressure ∼ 10-6 Torr. Magnetic dipole with two attached laser targets played the role of a planet, and background plasma from θ-pinch used for simulation of stellar wind. As a result, data on a behavior of plasma density and magnetic field were obtained. The novel phenomenon was registered: magnetic field is transferred by the cloud of laser plasma, which was not observed before in experiments or calculations.

Radiation-pressure-driven ion Weibel instability and collisionless shocks.

The Weibel instability from counterstreaming plasma flows is a basic process highly relevant for collisionless shock formation in astrophysics. In this paper we investigate, via two- and three-dimensional simulations, suitable configurations for laboratory investigations of the ion Weibel instability (IWI) driven by a fast quasineutral plasma flow launched into the target via the radiation pressure of an ultra-high-intensity laser pulse ("hole-boring" process). The use of S-polarized light at oblique incidence is found to be an optimal configuration for driving IWI, as it prevents the development of surface rippling observed at normal incidence that would lead to strong electron heating and would favor competing instabilities. Conditions for the evolution of IWI into a collisionless shock are also investigated.

Interaction of counter-streaming plasma flows in a dipole magnetic field

The transient interaction of counter-streaming super-sonic plasma flows in a dipole magnetic dipole is studied in a laboratory experiment. First quasi-stationary flow is produced by -pinch and forms a magnetosphere around the magnetic dipole, while laser beams focused at the surface of the dipole cover launch a second explosive plasma expanding outward from the inner dipole region. The laser plasma is energetic enough to disrupt the magnetic field and to sweep through the background plasma for large distances. Probe measurements showed that far from the initially formed magnetosphere laser plasma carries within itself a magnetic field of the same direction but an order of magnitude larger than the vacuum dipole field at considered distances. Because no compression of the magnetic field at the front of the laser plasma was observed, the realised interaction is different from previous experiments and theoretical models of laser plasma expansion into a uniform magnetized background. It was deduced based on the obtained data that, while expanding through the inner magnetosphere, laser plasma picks up a magnetised shell formed by background plasma and carries it for large distances beyond the previously existing magnetosphere.

Structure of a Magnetic Flux Annihilation Layer Formed by the Collision of Supersonic, Magnetized Plasma Flows

We present experiments characterizing the detailed structure of a current layer, generated by the collision of two counterstreaming, supersonic and magnetized aluminum plasma flows. The antiparallel magnetic fields advected by the flows are found to be mutually annihilated inside the layer, giving rise to a bifurcated current structure-two narrow current sheets running along the outside surfaces of the layer. Measurements with Thomson scattering show a fast outflow of plasma along the layer and a high ion temperature (T_{i}∼Z[over ¯]T_{e}, with average ionization Z[over ¯]=7). Analysis of the spatially resolved plasma parameters indicates that the advection and subsequent annihilation of the inflowing magnetic flux determines the structure of the layer, while the ion heating could be due to the development of kinetic, current-driven instabilities.

SOLAR MAGNETIZED TORNADOES: ROTATIONAL MOTION IN A TORNADO-LIKE PROMINENCE

Su et al. 2012 proposed a new explanation for filament formation and eruption, where filament barbs are rotating magnetic structures driven by underlying vortices on the surface. Such structures have been noticed as tornado-like prominences when they appear above the limb. They may play a key role as the source of plasma and twist in filaments. However, no observations have successfully distinguished rotational motion of the magnetic structures in tornado-like prominences from other motions such as oscillation and counter-streaming plasma flows. Here we report evidence of rotational motions in a tornado-like prominence. The spectroscopic observations in two coronal lines were obtained from a specifically designed Hinode/EIS observing program. The data revealed the existence of both cold and million-degree-hot plasma in the prominence leg, supporting the so-called "the prominence-corona transition region". The opposite velocities at the two sides of the prominence and their persistent time evolution, together with the periodic motions evident in SDO/AIA dark structures, indicate a rotational motion of both cold and hot plasma with a speed of $\sim$5 km s$^{-1}$.

Collisional effects in the ion Weibel instability for two counter-propagating plasma streams

Experiments directed towards the study of the collisionless interaction between two counter-streaming plasma flows generated by high-power lasers are designed in such a way as to make collisions between the ions of the two flows negligibly rare. This is reached by making flow velocities v as high as possible and thereby exploiting the 1/v4 dependence of the Rutherford cross-section. At the same time, the plasma temperature of each flow may be relatively low so that collisional mean-free paths for the intra-stream particle collisions may be much smaller than the characteristic spatial scale of the unstable modes required for the shock formation. The corresponding effects are studied in this paper for the case of the ion Weibel (filamentation) instability. Dispersion relations for the case of strong intra-stream collisions are derived. It is shown that the growth-rates become significantly smaller than those stemming from a collisionless model. The underlying physics is mostly related to the increase of the electron stabilizing term. Additional effects are an increased “stiffness” of the collisional ion gas and the ion viscous dissipation. A parameter domain where collisions are important is identified.

Collisionless coupling of ion and electron temperatures in counterstreaming plasma flows.

Rapid electron and ion heating is observed in collisionless counterstreaming plasma flows and explained via a novel heating mechanism that couples the electron and ion temperatures. Recent experiments measure plasma conditions 4 mm from the surface of single foil (single plasma stream) and double foils (two counterstreaming plasmas) targets using Thomson scattering. Significant increases in electron and ion temperatures (from <100 eV to >1 keV) compared to the single foil geometry are observed. While electrons are heated by friction on opposite going ions, ion-ion collisions cannot explain the observed ion heating. Also, density and flow velocity measurements show negligible slow down and rule out stagnation. The nonlinear saturation of an acoustic two-stream electrostatic instability is predicted to couple the ion temperature to the electron temperature through the dynamic evolution of the instability threshold. Particle-in-cell simulations including both collisional and collisionless effects are compared to the experimental measurements and show rapid electron and ion heating consistent with the experimental measurements.

Kelvin-Helmholtz Turbulence Associated with Collisionless Shocks in Laser Produced Plasmas

We report the experimental results of a turbulent electric field driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability associated with laser produced collisionless shock waves. By irradiating an aluminum double plane target with a high-power laser, counterstreaming plasma flows are generated. As the consequence of the two plasma interactions, two shock waves and the contact surface are excited. The shock electric field and transverse modulation of the contact surface are observed by proton radiography. Performing hydrodynamic simulations, we reproduce the time evolutions of the reverse shocks and the transverse modulation driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

Characterizing counter-streaming interpenetrating plasmas relevant to astrophysical collisionless shocks

A series of Omega experiments have produced and characterized high velocity counter-streaming plasma flows relevant for the creation of collisionless shocks. Single and double CH2 foils have been irradiated with a laser intensity of ∼ 1016 W/cm2. The laser ablated plasma was characterized 4 mm from the foil surface using Thomson scattering. A peak plasma flow velocity of 2000 km/s, an electron temperature of ∼ 110 eV, an ion temperature of ∼ 30 eV, and a density of ∼ 1018 cm−3 were measured in the single foil configuration. Significant increases in electron and ion temperatures were seen in the double foil geometry. The measured single foil plasma conditions were used to calculate the ion skin depth, c/ωpi∼0.16 mm, the interaction length, ℓint, of ∼ 8 mm, and the Coulomb mean free path, λmfp∼27mm. With c/ωpi≪ℓint≪λmfp, we are in a regime where collisionless shock formation is possible.

Collisionless shock generation in high-speed counterstreaming plasma flows by a high-power laser

The experimental demonstration of the formation of a strong electrostatic (ES) collisionless shock has been carried out with high-speed counterstreaming plasmas, produced by a high-power laser irradiation, without external magnetic field. The nearly four times density jump observed in the experiment shows a high Mach-number shock. This large density jump is attributed to the compression of the downstream plasma by momentum transfer by ion reflection of the upstream plasma. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation shows the production of a collisionless high Mach-number ES shock with counterstreaming interaction of two plasma slabs with different temperatures and densities, as pointed out by Sorasio et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 045005 (2006)]. It is speculated that the shock discontinuity is balanced with the momentum of incoming and reflected ions and the predominant pressure of the electrons in the downstream with PIC simulation.

Laboratory experiment to study collisionless shock

We report the experimental results of collisionless shock formation in counterstreaming plasmas produced by a high-power laser system. The experiment was performed with Gekko XII HIPER laser system at the Institute of Laser Engineering. In order to model collisionless shocks in the universe, supersonic counterstreaming plasma flows were generated using a CH double-plane target. By using the self-emission measurements, we observed the emission increase toward the shock through the downstream. We also observed the density jump associated with the emission increase. The width of the transition region is shorter than the ion-ion mean-free-path calculated from the measured plasma velocity and density.

Particle acceleration by lower-hybrid turbulence

We investigate particle acceleration by strong lower-hybrid turbulence produced by the relaxation of an energetic perpendicular ion ring distribution. Ion ring distributions are associated with counterstreaming plasma flows in a magnetic field, and are found at perpendicular shocks as a result of ion reflection from the shock surface. Using a 2½D particle-in-cell (PIC) code that is fully electromagnetic and relativistic, we show that the ion ring is unstable to the generation of strong plasma turbulence at the lower-hybrid resonant frequency. The lower-hybrid wave turbulence collapses in configuration space, producing density cavities. The collapse of the cavities is halted by particle acceleration, producing energetic electron and ion tails. For solar flare plasmas with temperatures of 1 keV and a ratio of the plasma frequency to the electron cyclotron frequency of ½, we demonstrate electron acceleration to energies up to MeV, while the ions are accelerated to energies in the region of several MeV.

Explosion Phenomena in Collisionless Plasmas at Super-Alfvenic Speed

Explosion events in plasmas widespread in both the Universe and Laboratories are investigated by numerical simulation of collisionless super-Alfvenic dense plasma clouds expanding through and decelerating in an ambient plasma background. Since the turbulent coupling of counterstreaming plasma flows at large Alfven-Mach numbers is inefficient, the laminar collisionless mechanism associated with electric fields arising at the leading edge of the expanding clouds is studied in detail. Using a universal hybrid kinetic-hydrodynamical description, the calculations are made for two cases, e.g., a. two-dimensional expansion of a spherical cloud into an initially (i) uniform and (ii)nonuniform background. The evolution of expanding plasma clouds and the dependence of cloud energy losses on time and on the ambient plasma nonuniformity are obtained.