Time evolution of collisionless shock in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas

We investigated the time evolution of a strong collisionless shock in counterstreaming plasmas produced using a high-power laser pulse. The counterstreaming plasmas were generated by irradiating a CH double-plane target with the laser. In self-emission streaked optical pyrometry data, steepening of the self-emission profile as the two-plasma interaction evolved indicated shock formation. The shock thickness was less than the mean free path of the counterstreaming ions. Two-dimensional snapshots of the self-emission and shadowgrams also showed very thin shock structures. The Mach numbers estimated from the flow velocity and the brightness temperatures are very high.     

纳秒激光驱动非相对论无碰撞静电冲击波反射离子能谱测量的Geant4模拟

间接驱动惯性约束聚变真空或者近真空黑腔实验中,纳秒激光烧蚀产生的腔壁等离子体可以在靶丸烧蚀等离子体（或低密度填充气体）中驱动无碰撞静电冲击波,冲击波电场会以二倍冲击波速度反射离子。为了测量纳秒激光驱动非相对论无碰撞静电冲击波产生的10 keV量级的反射离子能谱,设计了低能汤姆逊离子谱仪。利用Geant4建模,对离子测量过程进行了全过程蒙特卡罗模拟,用以评估靶室残余气体和喷气气体对低能离子测量的影响。模拟结果显示,靶室残余气体会造成10 keV量级D离子信号在谱仪电场和磁场方向展宽。电场方向的展宽会增加不同荷质比离子谱线发生交叠的风险,而磁场方向的展宽会导致离子能谱展宽。喷气气体会造成离子信号向低能区移动并拖尾,导致测量的离子谱偏离真实的反射离子能谱。     

Particle acceleration at astrophysical shocks: A theory of cosmic ray origin

The theory of first order Fermi acceleration at collisionless astrophysical shock fronts is reviewed. Observations suggest that shock waves in different astrophysical environments accelerate cosmic rays efficiently. In the first order process, high energy particles diffuse through Alfvén waves that scatter them and couple them to the background plasma. These particles gain energy, on the average, every time they cross the schock front and bounce off approaching scattering centers. Calculations demonstrate that the distribution function transmitted by a plane shock is roughly a power law in momentum with slope similar to that inferred in galactic cosmic ray sources. The generation of the scattering Alfvén waves by the streaming cosmic rays is described and it is argued that the wave amplitude is probably non-linear within sufficiently strong astrophysical shocks. Hydromagnetic scattering can operate on the thermal particles as well, possibly establishing the shock structure. This suggests a model of strong collisionless shocks in which high energy particles are inevitably produced very efficiently. Observable consequences of this model, together with its limitations and some alternatives, are described. Cosmic ray origin and astrophysical shocks can no longer be considered separately.     

Shocks in nonlocal media

We investigate the formation of collisionless shocks along the spatial profile of a Gaussian laser beam propagating in nonlocal nonlinear media. For defocusing nonlinearity the shock survives the smoothing effect of the nonlocal response, though its dynamics is qualitatively affected by the latter, whereas for focusing nonlinearity it dominates over filamentation. The patterns observed in a thermal defocusing medium are interpreted in the framework of our theory.     

Thermal diffusion shock waves

The Ludwig-Soret effect or thermal diffusion, which refers to the separation of liquid mixtures in a temperature gradient, is governed by a nonlinear, partial differential equation in space and time. It is shown here that the solution to the nonlinear differential equation for a binary mixture predicts the existence of shock waves completely analogous to fluid shocks and obeys an expression for the shock velocity that is an exact analogue of the Rankine-Hugoniot relations. Direct measurements of the time dependent, spatial absorption profile of a suspension of nanometer sized particles subjected to a sinusoidal temperature field generated by a pair of continuous laser beams, as well as self-diffraction experiments, show motion of the particles in agreement with the predictions of nonlinear theory.     

Overturning of nonlinear Alfvén waves in a collisionless plasma

An analysis is made of the overturning of nonlinear Alfvén waves in a collisionless plasma. It is shown that overturning is followed by the appearance of a region which broadens with time and consists of two collisionless shock waves which can be joined at the point s²=1. If only one Riemann invariant changes in the region of the collisionless shock waves, the waves are simple. The structures of the collisionless shock waves are constructed for different initial conditions of the nonlinear wave. The Whitham averaging method is used for this purpose. Conditions are obtained which are similar to the Rankine-Hugoniot adiabats for passage through the collisionless shock waves. The effect of overturning one of the collisionless shock waves, involving the zeroing of the density at the soliton peak on its trailing edge, is treated as a bifurcation for which a discontinuity occurs in an analog of the hydrodynamic velocity and phase of the nonlinear Alfvén wave. The width of one of the collisionless shock waves decreases with an increase in the parametera which determines the magnitude of the field discontinuity when overturning occurs.L. N. Tolstoi State University, Checheno-Ingushk. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 62–67, January, 1993.     

超强激光与固体气体复合靶作用产生高能氦离子

激光氦离子源产生的MeV能量的氦离子因有望用于聚变反应堆材料辐照损伤的模拟研究而得到关注.目前激光驱动氦离子源的主要方案是采用相对论激光与氦气射流作用加速高能氦离子,但这种方案在实验上难以产生具有前向性和准单能性、数MeV能量、高产额的氦离子束,而这些氦离子束特性是材料辐照损伤研究中十分关注的.不同于上述激光氦离子产生方法,我们提出了一种利用超强激光与固体-气体复合靶作用产生氦离子的新方法.利用这种方法,在实验上,采用功率密度5×10~(18)W/cm~2的皮秒脉宽的激光脉冲与铜-氦气复合靶作用,产生了前向发射的2.7 MeV的准单能氦离子束,能量超过0.5 MeV的氦离子产额约为10~(13)/sr.二维粒子模拟显示,氦离子在靶背鞘场加速和类无碰撞冲击波加速两种加速机理共同作用下得到加速.同时粒子模拟还显示氦离子截止能量与超热电子温度成正比.     

Ion acceleration by collisionless shocks in high-intensity-laser-underdense-plasma interaction

Ion acceleration by the interaction of an ultraintense short-pulse laser with an underdense-plasma has been studied at intensities up to 3 x 10(20) W/cm(2). Helium ions having a maximum energy of 13.2+/-1.0 MeV were measured at an angle of 100 degrees from the laser propagation direction. The maximum ion energy scaled with plasma density as n(0.70+/-0.05)(e). Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations suggest that multiple collisionless shocks are formed at high density. The interaction of shocks is responsible for the observed plateau structure in the ion spectrum and leads to an enhanced ion acceleration beyond that possible by the ponderomotive potential of the laser alone.     

Entropy generation across Earth's collisionless bow shock

Earth's bow shock is a collisionless shock wave but entropy has never been directly measured across it. The plasma experiments on Cluster and Double Star measure 3D plasma distributions upstream and downstream of the bow shock allowing calculation of Boltzmann's entropy function H and his famous H theorem, dH/dt≤0. The collisionless Boltzmann (Vlasov) equation predicts that the total entropy does not change if the distribution function across the shock becomes nonthermal, but it allows changes in the entropy density. Here, we present the first direct measurements of entropy density changes across Earth's bow shock and show that the results generally support the model of the Vlasov analysis. These observations are a starting point for a more sophisticated analysis that includes 3D computer modeling of collisionless shocks with input from observed particles, waves, and turbulences.     

Merging for Particle-Mesh Complex Particle Kinetic modeling of the multiple plasma beams

We suggest a merging procedure for the Particle-Mesh Complex Particle Kinetic (PMCPK) method in case of inter-penetrating flow (multiple plasma beams). We examine the standard particle-in-cell (PIC) and the PMCPK methods in the case of particle acceleration by shock surfing for a wide range of the control numerical parameters. The plasma dynamics is described by a hybrid (particle-ion–fluid-electron) model. Note that one may need a mesh if modeling with the computation of an electromagnetic field. Our calculations use specified, time-independent electromagnetic fields for the shock, rather than self-consistently generated fields. While a particle-mesh method is a well-verified approach, the CPK method seems to be a good approach for multiscale modeling that includes multiple regions with various particle/fluid plasma behavior. However, the CPK method is still in need of a verification for studying the basic plasma phenomena: particle heating and acceleration by collisionless shocks, magnetic field reconnection, beam dynamics, etc.     

Reversible electron heating vs . Wave-particle interactions in quasi-perpendicular shocks

Summary The energy necessary to explain the electron heating in quasiperpendicular collisionless shocks can be derived either from the electron acceleration in the d.c. cross shock electric potential, or by the interactions between the electrons and the waves existing in the shock. A Monte Carlo simulation has been performed to study the electron distribution function evolution through the shock structure, with and without particle diffusion on waves. This simulation has allowed us to clarify the relative importance of the two possible energy sources; in particular it has been shown that the electron parallel temperature is determined by the d.c. electromagnetic field and not by any wave-particle-induced heating. Wave particle interactions are effective in smoothing out the large gradients in phase space produced by the ?reversible? motion of the electrons, thus producing a ?cooling? of the electrons. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

Propagation of ion shock in solid DT target with nonlinear force-driven plasma blocks

The plasma block (piston) with pressure P ₁ is generated as a result of the nonlinear (ponderomotive) force in laser–plasma interaction. The plasma block can be used for the ignition of a fusion flame front in a solid density deuterium–tritium (DT) target by compressing the fuel that creates an ion shock propagating with velocity u _{ion? shock} in the inside of a solid DT target. The ignition is achieved by creating an ion shock during the final stages of the implosion. We estimated the effect of an ion shock in solid DT target at an early stage with no compression and at the last stage with compression, where density increases by a factor of solid-state density. According to the theoretical model, a large target with a very thin layer of fuel (high-aspect ratio target) would be ideal to obtain the very strong shocks. Results indicate that the maximum compression even by an infinitely strong single shock can never produce more than four times the initial density of DT fuel. The results reported that the threshold ignition energy in a solid DT target is reduced by a factor of 4.     

On the parallel shock waves in collisionless plasma with heat fluxes

A class of shock wave solutions is discussed for collisionless anisotropic plasma with heat fluxes. For the strictly parallel one-dimensional motions of a plasma the system of equations is written in divergent form and both linear and shock wave solutions are considered. Jump expressions for the parallel shocks are obtained in analytical form as functions of the shock upstream parameters.     

整形脉冲驱动下透明材料离化现象

 利用成像型速度干涉仪研究了大型激光原型装置整形脉冲驱动实验中产生的预热效应。对冲击波传输过程进行了分析,发现第１和第２个冲击波的起始时刻都在胶层里面,第３个冲击波的起始时刻在熔石英窗口里面。实验发现,由于X光离化效应的影响,第１和第２个冲击波传输引起的条纹跳变并没有观察到。第２和第３个激光脉冲前半部分产生的离化效应将透明窗口完全漂白,导致成像型速度干涉仪获得的条纹图出现了间断。实验观察到了第３个激光脉冲驱动的冲击波在熔石英中产生的加速和减速过程。对整形脉冲获得的实验结果进行了初步解释,得出现有条件下整形脉冲驱动应注意的问题为：控制最高辐射温度,选用带隙大的窗口材料,尽量减小胶层的厚度。     

Simulation of Accelerated Particle Diffusion in Collisionless Shocks with an Admixture of Heavier-than-Hydrogen Ions

Technical Physics - We report on the results of hybrid simulation of diffusive shock acceleration of ions with different charge-to-mass ratios in quasi-parallel collisionless shocks. We consider a...     

Features of the generation of a collisionless electrostatic shock wave in a laser-ablation plasma

The appearance of a density bump is experimentally revealed in an electrostatic shock wave during the ablation of an aluminum foil by a femtosecond laser pulse. The numerical simulation shows that this phenomenon can be explained by the generation of a packet of ion acoustic waves under the action of high-energy electron flows in a collisionless plasma. It is found that, for the formation and maintenance of the dense plasma layer in the shock wave, the contributions of accelerated ions overtaking it and wave-captured ions of the background plasma formed by a nanosecond laser prepulse in the process of ablation are significant.     

Generation of flexural waves in plates by laser-initiated airborne shock waves

Results of the semi-analytical modelling of the interaction of laser-initiated airborne shock waves with an infinite horizontally positioned elastic plate are presented. The impact of the airborne shock waves on the plate is approximated by a cylindrically diverging surface force resulting from the pressure of the incident and reflected shock waves. This force is then represented in the wavenumber-frequency domain by means of Hankel and Fourier transforms that are carried out numerically so that the interaction problem can be solved using the Green’s function method. The resulting frequency spectra and time histories of generated flexural wave pulses are calculated for different values of laser pulse energy and for different heights of the laser beam focusing above the plate surface. The theoretical results obtained are compared with the results of laboratory measurements of the interaction of laser-generated acoustic shocks with a large plastic plate. The comparison shows reasonably good agreement between the semi-analytical predictions and data.     

Analytical study of diffusive relativistic shock acceleration

Particle acceleration in relativistic shocks is studied analytically in the test-particle, small-angle scattering limit, for an arbitrary velocity-angle diffusion function D. The particle spectral index s is found to be sensitive to D, particularly downstream and at certain angles. The analysis, confirmed numerically, justifies and generalizes previous results for isotropic diffusion. It can be used to test collisionless shock models and to observationally constrain D. For example, strongly forward- or backward-enhanced diffusion downstream is ruled out by gamma-ray burst afterglow observations.     

Velocity and timing of multiple spherically converging shock waves in liquid deuterium

The fuel entropy and required drive energy for an inertial confinement fusion implosion are set by a sequence of shocks that must be precisely timed to achieve ignition. This Letter reports measurements of multiple spherical shock waves in liquid deuterium that facilitate timing inertial confinement fusion shocks to the required precision. These experiments produced the highest shock velocity observed in liquid deuterium (U(s) = 135 km/s at ～2500 GPa) and also the first observation of convergence effects on the shock velocity. Simulations model the shock-timing results well when a nonlocal transport model is used in the coronal plasma.     

Energy spectrum of particles accelerated in relativistic collisionless shocks

We analytically study diffusive particle acceleration in relativistic, collisionless shocks. We find a simple relation between the spectral index s and the anisotropy of the momentum distribution along the shock front. Based on this relation, we obtain s=(3beta(u)-2beta(u)beta(2)(d)+beta(3)(d))/(beta(u)-beta(d)) for isotropic diffusion, where beta(u) (beta(d)) is the upstream (downstream) fluid velocity normalized to the speed of light. This result is in agreement with previous numerical determinations of s for all (beta(u),beta(d)), and yields s=38/9 in the ultrarelativistic limit. The spectrum-anisotropy connection is useful for testing numerical studies and constraining anisotropic diffusion results. It suggests that the spectrum is highly sensitive to the form of the diffusion function for particles traveling along the shock front.