Electron–ion hybrid instability in laser-produced plasma expansions across magnetic fields

Abstract

High-intensity laser irradiation of hollow glass cylinders immersed in a magnetic field results in plasma expansions strongly collimated in the direction transverse to both the initial flow and the magnetic field, but jetlike in the direction parallel to the initial flow. Magnetic fields from B=0 kG to B=10 kG produced plasmas with markedly different geometrical features. Fast framing camera photographs show the plasmas propagating across magnetic field lines and undergoing structuring indicative of transverse velocity shear-driven instabilities. Comparison is made between the observed instability characteristics and predictions of Rayleigh–Taylor, classical Kelvin–Helmholtz, and the electron–ion hybrid instabilities. Only the electron–ion hybrid instability is consistent with the experimental results.

Detailed characterization of laser-produced astrophysically-relevant jets formed via a poloidal magnetic nozzle

“…Most experiments investigated plasma dynamics across B-field, revealing a fraction of the plasma to be confined while another part can move across the B-field via an E×B drift allowed by the development of polarization E-field in the plasma [21,22,23,24].…”

Density oscillations in laser produced plasma decelerated by external magnetic field

“…The large Larmor radius version of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is predicted theoretically to proceed on faster time scale than the classical Rayleight-Taylor instability. The most important condition for the large Larmor radius instability is that Larmor radius be large compared with the density scale length of the expanding plasma [2]. Here in this experiment the directed Larmor and thermal Larmor radii are found greater than the density scale length of the plasma but is less than the bounce radius of the plasma Ê , which is an important condition for the large Larmor radius instability.…”

“…Study of instability in expanding laser produced plasma during acceleration and deceleration phase has wide applicability in various field of research related with plasma physics including inertial confinement fusion [1][2][3][4]. The propagation and stability of collimated streams or jets of plasmas in magnetic field is important to a number of other important physical problems, including beam heating of magnetically confined thermonuclear plasma as well as interaction of solar wind with planetary magnetospheres etc.…”

“…The nature of these instabilities is not very clear now. It is well known that the deceleration force in the plasma induces R-T instabilities, which require the magnetization state of the ions and has been investigated extensively [2]. Streaming and counter streaming plasma flows can dominate the plasma dynamics and the evolution of structures in the plasma.…”

Electromagnetic Waves and Their Application to Charged Particle Acceleration

“…Tapered plasma channels have been proposed for the enhancement of interaction length to achieve greater acceleration [42]. However, in such interactions, when the plasma wave acquires sufficiently large amplitude it becomes susceptible to instability, which is also an important issue in nonlinear plasma physics [43 -53] in addition to other types of waves, structures and instabilities [54 -63] including the laser produced plasmas [64] that may support different types of growing waves under the effect of high magnetic field [65].…”