Time evolution of collisionless shock in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas

Y Kuramitsu, Y Sakawa, T Morita, C D Gregory, J N Waugh, S Dono, H Aoki, H Tanji, M Koenig, N Woolsey, H Takabe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175002
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume106
Issue number17
Publication statusPublished - 2011

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