Studying plasma astrophysics in the laboratory with magnetized laser-produced plasmas

Will Fox

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

1:30pm

Remote

PSFC Seminars

The recent generation of laboratory high-energy-density physics facilities has opened a significant new way to experimentally study the fundamental physics behind astrophysical plasmas.  I will review our progress on several challenge problems, including observation of magnetic reconnection, laboratory generation and observations of magnetized collisionless shocks, first-principles simulations of magnetic field generation by Biermann battery and Weibel instability. These processes are all of interest because they mediate energy exchange in plasmas between plasma flows (kinetic energy), thermal energy, and magnetic fields, and are can accelerate energized particles in cosmic plasmas, and may be responsible for production of high-energy cosmic rays.   Experiments are conducted at NIF and OMEGA and modeled with first principles particle-in-cell simulations using the PSC code, supported by INCITE.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://mit-psfc.zoom.us/j/6174522043?pwd=NHN3ZHFURUJLM0VkQnprOVkyaVhNUT09

Meeting ID: 617 452 2043
Passcode: Fusion