High energy density laboratory astrophysics

Abstract

High-energy-density (HED) physics refers broadly to the study of macroscopic collections of matter under extreme conditions of temperature and density. The experimental facilities most widely used for these studies are high-power lasers and magnetic-pinch generators. The HED physics pursued on these facilities is still in its infancy, yet new regimes of experimental science are emerging. Examples from astrophysics include work relevant to planetary interiors, supernovae, astrophysical jets, and accreting compact objects (such as neutron stars and black holes). In this paper, we will review a selection of recent results in this new field of HED laboratory astrophysics and provide a brief look ahead to the coming decade.

Nonlinear collective effects in photon-photon and photon-plasma interactions

“…The possibility of simulating astrophysical events in a laboratory environment has, during the last decade, progressed (Chen, 2003;Remington, 2005). Apart from the astrophysical tests, laser-plasma systems also provide an opportunity to test certain aspects of fundamental physics, e.g.…”

“…In fact, some of the most pertinent in today's fundamental physics research , such as the question of dark matter (e.g. through the effects of light pseudoscalar fields, such as the axion field, on QED interactions and light propagation, see Bernard (1999); Bradley et al (2003); Dupays et al (2005)), cosmic accelerators (such as through laboratory plasma wakefield accelerator tests (Chen, 2003)), and possible new highdensity states of matter (Remington, 2005), are related to the high energy events for which laboratory astrophysics would yield valuable insight. Thus, it is of interest to study such high energy scenarios, e.g.…”

“…inertial confinement fusion (Eliezer, 2002). Moreover, the intense electromagnetic radiation generated in state-of-the-art lasers can be used to model certain astrophysical plasma conditions in a laboratory environment (Remington, 2005). Questions of astrophysical interest that can be approached within the field of high energy density laboratory astrophysics range from the equations of state of planetary interiors to supernova shock formation (see HEDLA (2005) for an overview).…”

Optimizing Laboratory Experiments for Dynamic Astrophysical Phenomena

“…One can compare, for example, "elephant trunks" of photoevaporated molecular clouds [1] and their laboratory analog obtained in the studies of the ablation front instabilities [2]; deeply non-linear bubble-and-spike structures obtained in numerical simulations of the exploding supernova [3] and the laboratory images of such structures [4]; irregular shape of the supernova-driven blast waves [5] and shadowgrams of the laser-driven, irregular blast waves in the laboratory [6]; curved jets generated by young stellar objects (e.g., [7]) and similar jets generated with miniature Z-pinches [8]. Numerous other examples can be found in review papers [9][10][11].…”

Similarity laws for collisionless interaction of superstrong electromagnetic fields with a plasma

“…An interested reader can find a lot of information (as well as further references) in invited papers from the recent EPS Plasma Physics Conference [2][3][4]. Ultra-intense lasers may have also interesting applications for simulating astrophysical phenomena (see, e.g., a survey [5]). …”