LABORATORY PLASMA ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH WITH INTENSE LASERS
Large scale laser facilities mainly constructed for fusion research can be used to produce high-energy-density plasmas like the interior of stars and planets. They can be also used to reproduce the extreme phenomena of explosion and high Mach number flow in mimic scale in laboratory. With advanced diagnostic technique, we can study the physics of plasma phenomena expected to control a variety of phenomena in Universe. The subjects studied so far are reviewed, for example, in [1], [2].
The project to promote the laboratory astrophysics with Gekko XII laser facility has been initiated from April 1st this year as a project of our institute. It consists of four sub-projects. They are
1. Physics of collisionless shock and particle acceleration,
2. Physics of Non LTE (local thermodynamic equilibrium) photo-ionized plasma,
3. Physics of planets and meteor impact,
4. Development of superconducting Terahertz device.
I will briefly explain what the laser astrophysics means and introduce what are the targets of our project. Regarding the first sub-project, we have carried out hydrodynamic and PIC simulation to design the experiments with intense laser. We clarified the physical mechanism of generation of the magnetic field in non-magnetized plasma and the collsionless shock formation caused by the ion orbit modifications by the magnetic fields generated as the result of plasma instability.
Note from Publisher: This article contains the abstract only.
