Planarity and stability of shock driven directly by the ninth laser beam from “Shenguang-II" laser facility

Using the ninth laser beam (converted to 2ω) of “Shenguang-II” laser facility and the beam smoothing technology of lens-array [Appl. Opt. 25, 377 (1986); Phys. Plasmas. 9, 3201 (1995)], a shock wave with 700 μm (the root-mean-square of shock breakout time (RMS) RMS ≈ 6.32 ps) flat top was created. An Al-Al four-step target was designed to do research on shock wave stability in an Al target. And the shock stability experiment with the Al-Al four-step target indicated that the shock wave steadily propagated in the Al target of thickness of about 20–45 μm under the power density of ~ 1.0×10¹⁴ W/cm².     

Influence of anisotropy on the structure of an ion-sound wave

We study the influence of magnetic field on the ion-sound disturbance of a weakly ionized plasma ahead of a strong shock wave of the neutral component. Different regimes (subsonic, sonic, and supersonic) are studied. Main attention is paid to the case of formation of a discontinuous field in the plasma. Radiophysical Research Institute, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 120–128, February 1999.     

Structural ion-sound plasma turbulence as a self-similar random process

It is shown that the experimentally investigated structural ion-sound plasma turbulence is a self-similar stationary random process. The self-similarity parameter is determined by two temporal laws: the nonrandom character of the appearance of nonlinear structures (nonlinear ion-sound solitons) in the plasma, and the nonlinear interaction between them. As the distance from the threshold of the ion-sound current instability increases, the self-similar random process approaches a Gaussian random process, but this limit has not been attained experimentally. The possibility of recording superlong time series of the fluctuations of the signal of the plasma process and processing of the time series by the R/S analysis method has made it possible to prove self-similarity of the plasma structural turbulence. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 3, 203–208 (10 August 1999)     

Superspherical cumulation. Converging shock waves with amplitudes increasing faster than in spherical cumulation

Experimental, numerical, and theoretical investigations are made of a gas flow generated by a pulsed high-current discharge in an axisymmetric cavity bounded by a spherical lens adjacent to a flat plate. It is shown that the shock wave forming in the discharge and converging toward the axis is accelerated and amplified as it converges. The amplitude of the shock wave increases faster than does that of a spherical converging shock wave. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 10–18 (March 1999)     

Asymmetric interaction of blast waves and shock waves with a body flying at supersonic velocity

The problems of asymmetric interaction of a blunt wedge traveling at supersonic velocity with a cylindrical blast wave from a point explosion and with a plane shock wave are investigated by numerical simulation. The evolution of the interaction flow is analyzed, and data are obtained on how the structure of the shock layer changes. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 15–19 (May 1999)     

Influence of local dispersion on transient processes accompanying the generation of rf radiation by an electromagnetic shock wave

Transient processes accompanying the conversion of a video pulse into a radio pulse in a nonlinear transmission line having hysteretic properties are studied. It is established that the transition process leading to the establishment of “steady-state” (close in amplitude) oscillations has a minimum when the electromagnetic shock wave front is phase-matched with the wave excited by it at a frequency near the minimum local dispersion of the group velocity. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 89–95 (January 1998)     

Shock wave structure in dense gases

The internal structure of a shock wave front in a gas is studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. A new approach to MD shock simulation is used, which enables one to consider a stationary shock front at rest and radically improves the quality of simulation. The profiles of flow variables and their fluctuations are calculated. The evolution of the velocity distribution function across the shock layer is calculated and compared with the bimodal distribution. The pair distribution function in the shock layer is determined. The surface tension associated with the shock wave is estimated. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 2, 91–96 (25 July 1997)     

Problems of interpretation of holographic interferograms near shock wave fronts

A method of avoiding ambiguity in the interpretation of interferograms near a shock wave front is proposed. The method is based on combining the double-exposure schlieren method and holographic interferometry. Relations for calculating, on the basis of data obtained by analyzing double-exposure schlieren photographs, both the density at the shock wave front and the gradient of the density directly behind the front, which is necessary for calculating the shifts of the interference fringes near the shock wave front, are presented. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 88–91 (September 1998)     

Structure of a collisionless shock front with relativistically accelerated particles

A nonlinear self-consistent analytic theory is developed to describe the front structure of a strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) collisionless shock wave that generates accelerated particles (including ultrarelativistic particles). The theory is used to predict the degree of compression of matter at the plane front of such a wave, which can greatly exceed compression at an ordinary gas-dynamic front, and also the velocity, density, and pressure profiles. The energy spectrum of the accelerated particles, which is produced by the complex velocity profile at the shock transition, is determined self-consistently. New nonlinear effects are predicted that have not been discussed previously in the literature: a strong dependence of the particle acceleration regimes on the rate of injection; the existence of several regimes within a certain range of injected powers with differing spectra of accelerated particles, shapes of the shock transition profile, and magnitudes of compression of the medium; and the possibility of spontaneous jumps between different states of the shock transition. The question of stability of these states is discussed. For the values of the system parameters used here, the nonlinear regimes correspond to extremely low injection rates, of order 10⁻²–10⁻¹⁰ of the plasma flux density advancing into the front, and to exponents of the power-law spectra of accelerated particles between 5 and 3. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1584–1602 (November 1997)     

Shock wave structure in simple liquids

The shock wave structure in a liquid is studied by a molecular dynamics simulation method. The interaction between atoms is described by the Lennard-Jones (6–12) potential. In contrast to earlier works, the simulation is performed in a reference frame tied to the shock wave front. This approach reduces non-physical fluctuations and makes it possible to calculate the distribution functions of the kinetic and potential energy for several cross sections within the shock layer. The profiles of flow variables and their fluctuations are found. The surface tension connected with pressure anisotropy within the shock front is calculated. It is shown that the main contribution to the surface tension coefficient comes from the mean virial. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 9, 722–727 (10 May 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Optical study of parameters of the passage of a shock wave from air to water

A study is made of the penetration of shock waves from air into water. The shock wave in air is generated as a result of dielectric breakdown induced by pulsed CO₂-laser radiation. A combination of the double-exposure shadow method and holographic interferometry is used to measure the shock-wave parameters. Density and pressure profiles behind the wave front are obtained at different times after onset of breakdown. It is shown experimentally that as the wave passes through the interface from the air to the water, there is a fourfold amplification of the pressure in the shock wave front. Estimates of the width of the shock wave front formed in the water are given in the context of studies of large-scale explosion processes. It is shown that simple empirical dependences, established in the course of studies of large-scale explosions, are also valid with certain corrections for microscopic laboratory experiments. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 39–43 (August 1998)     

Dynamics and Stability of a Weak Detonation Wave

One dimensional weak detonation waves of a basic reactive shock wave model are proved to be nonlinearly stable, i.e. initially perturbed waves tend asymptotically to translated weak detonation waves. This model system was derived as the low Mach number limit of the one component reactive Navier-Stokes equations by Majda and Roytburd [SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput. 43, 1086–1118 (1983)], and its weak detonation waves have been numerically observed as stable. The analysis shows in particular the key role of the new nonlinear dynamics of the position of the shock wave, The shock translation solves a nonlinear integral equation, obtained by Green's function techniques, and its solution is estimated by observing that the kernel can be split into a dominating convolution operator and a remainder. The inverse operator of the convolution and detailed properties of the traveling wave reduce, by monotonicity, the remainder to a small L ₁ perturbation. Received: 17 August 1998 / Accepted: 13 November 1998     

Effects of the diffusive acceleration of particles by shock waves in the primordial matter of the solar system

The effects of the shock wave diffusive acceleration of particles are considered in the case of formation of isotopic relations of the anomalous Xe-HL component of xenon in relic grains of nanodiamonds in chondrites. It is shown that this component could be formed and captured simultaneously with the nanodiamond synthesis in the conditions of the explosive shock wave propagation from supernova outbursts. The specificity of isotopic composition of Xe-HL is due to the high hardness of the spectrum of nuclear-active particles at the shock wave front and its enrichment with heavy isotopes. The spallogenic nature of both the anomalous and normal components of xenon is ascertained, and the role of the subsequent evolutionary processes in the change of their isotopic systems is shown. Experimental evidence of the formation of the power law spectrum of particles with the spectral index γ ∼ 1 by the supersonic turbulence during the carbon-detonation supernova SnIa explosion is obtained; this perhaps opens new perspectives in studying the problem of the origin of cosmic rays. It is shown that at the stage of free expansion of the explosive shock wave, the degree of compression of the matter at the wave front was σ = 31 (the corresponding Mach number M ∼ 97); this led to a 31-fold increase of the magnetic field as well as of the maximum energy of accelerated particles, so that even the energy of protons reached ∼ 3 × 10¹⁵ eV, i.e., the “knee” region.     

Collision of a comet with Jupiter: Determination of fragment penetration depths from the molecular spectra

After the fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 fell onto Jupiter, some molecules which were formed as a result of chemical reactions in the shock-compressed gas during the explosion of the comet fragments and ejected into the upper atmosphere by the shock wave were observed in the upper atmosphere. As the initially hot gas expanded, these molecules were quenched. Therefore they represent a kind of “memory” of the shock processes which occurred in the region of generation of the strong shock wave. The radiation from such molecules was registered by both ground-based observers and the Hubble space telescope. In the present paper we estimate the penetration depth and energy of the largest comet fragments on the basis of data on the content of shock-synthesized molecules in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 6, 387–391 (25 March 1996)     

Stability and ambiguous representation of shock wave discontinuity in thermodynamically nonideal media

The nonlinear analysis of the behavior of a shock wave on a Hugoniot curve fragment that allows for the ambiguous representation of shock wave discontinuity has been performed. The fragment under consideration includes a section where the condition L > 1 + 2M is satisfied, which is a linear criterion of the instability of the shock wave in media with an arbitrary equation of state. The calculations in the model of a viscous heat-conductive gas show that solutions with an instable shock wave are not implemented. In the one-dimensional model, the shock wave decays into two shock waves or a shock wave and a rarefaction wave, which propagate in opposite directions, or can remain in the initial state. The choice of the solution depends on the parameters of the shock wave (position on the Hugoniot curve), as well as on the form and intensity of its perturbation. In the two-dimensional and three-dimensional calculations with a periodic perturbation of the shock wave, a “cellular” structure is formed on the shock front with a finite amplitude of perturbations that does not decrease and increase in time. Such behavior of the shock wave is attributed to the appearance of the triple configurations in the inclined sections of the perturbed shock wave, which interact with each other in the process of propagation along its front.     

Electron kinetics in collisionless shock waves

We study the kinetic model of the formation of the energy spectrum of nonthermal electrons near the front of a quasilongitudinal, supercritical, collisionless shock wave. Nonresonant interactions of the electrons and the fluctuations generated by kinetic instabilities of the ions in the transition region inside the shock front play the main role in the heating and preacceleration of electrons. We calculate the electron energy spectrum in the vicinity of the shock wave and show that the heating and preacceleration of electrons occur on a scale of the order of several hundred ion inertial lengths in the vicinity of the viscous discontinuity. Although the electron distribution function is significantly nonequilibrium near the shock front, its low-energy part can be approximated by a Maxwellian distribution. The effective electron temperature T _eff ² behind the front, obtained in this manner, increases with the Mach number of the shock wave slower than it would if it followed the Hugoniot adiabat. We determine the condition under which the electron heating is ineffective but the electrons are effectively accelerated to high energies. The high-energy asymptotic behavior of the distribution function is that of a power law, with the exponent determined by the total compression ratio of the plasma, as in the case of acceleration by the first-order Fermi mechanism. The model is used to describe the case (important for applications) of acceleration of electrons by shock waves with large total Mach numbers, with the structure of these waves modified by the nonlinear interaction of nonthermal ions and consisting of an extended prefront with a smooth variation of the macroscopic parameters and a viscous discontinuity in speed with a moderate value of the Mach number. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 846–864 (March 1999)     

Hydrodynamics of modulated finite-amplitude waves in dispersive media

Analytic approaches are developed for integrating the nondiagonalizable Whitham equations for the generation and propagation of nonlinear modulated finite-amplitude waves in dissipationless dispersive media. Natural matching conditions for these equations are stated in a general form analogous to the Gurevich-Pitaevskii conditions for the averaged Korteweg-de Vries equations. Exact relationships between the hydrodynamic quantities on different sides of a dissipationless shock wave, an analog of the shock adiabat in ordinary dissipative hydrodynamics and first proposed on the basis of physical considerations by Gurevich and Meshcherkin, are obtained. The boundaries of a self similar, dissipationless shock wave are determined analytically as a function of the density jump. Some specific examples are considered. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1116–1136 (March 1999)     

The effect of parametrically excited spin waves on the dispersion and damping of magnetostatic surface waves in ferrite films

This paper describes an experimental study of variations of the dispersion and damping of magnetostatic surface waves in ferrite films, caused by three-and four-magnon interactions with parametric spin waves excited by an auxiliary surface magnetostatic pump wave with frequency f _p. The variations in the dispersion and damping were identified, respectively, with variations Δk″ in the real part and Δk′ in the imaginary part of the wave number of the surface magnetostatic wave. The Δk″ and Δk′ values were determined from the ratio of the changes of the phase increment Δφ and the amplitude increment ΔA of the surface magnetostatic wave to the length L of the nonequilibrium section of the film, where the parametric spin waves exist. It is found that, when three-magnon decay processes are allowed for the pump wave and the surface magnetostatic probe wave, the probe wave can substantially alter the distribution of the parametric spin waves in the film. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 318–332 (January 1999)     

Interaction of a shock wave with a bubble screen

The passage of a shock wave through a layer of bubbly liquid is considered. An exact solution is constructed in the case of a normal screen with a pressure pulse in the form a semi-infinite step. The results of numerical modeling by a modified Godunov method are presented for long and short pressure pulses. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 42–48 (January 1999)     

Anisotropic momentum transfer in low-dimensional electron systems in a magnetic field

In low-dimensional systems with an asymmetric quantizing potential, an asymmetric electron energy spectrum ε(p)≠ε(−p), where p is the electron momentum, arises in the presence of a magnetic field. A consequence of such an energy spectrum is that momentum transfer to the electron system in mutually opposite directions in the presence of an external perturbation is different. Therefore, in the presence of a standing electromagnetic wave momentum is transferred from the wave to the electrons, which gives rise to a new type of electromotive force. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 8, 551–555 (25 October 1997)