Particle-in-cell simulations of laser-driven, ion-scale magnetospheres in laboratory plasmas

POSTER

Abstract

Ion-scale magnetospheres have been observed around comets, weakly-magnetized asteroids, and localized regions on the Moon. These mini-magnetospheres provide a unique environment to study kinetic-scale plasma physics, in particular in the collisionless regime. In this work, we present collisionless particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of ion-scale magnetospheres that reproduce recent laboratory experiments performed on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. Utilizing high-repetition rate lasers to drive super-Alfv\'{e}nic plasma flows into a dipole magnetic field embedded in a uniform background magnetic field, these experiments examine the evolution of local and global magnetosphere structure for a range of dipole and upstream parameters. PIC simulations are employed to interpret highly-resolved, volumetric experimental datasets, and used to determine the magnetospheric structure, magnetopause location and kinetic-scale structures of the plasma current distribution. Single and multiple ion species simulations are compared to investigate the role of heavy ion debris from the laser target in the interaction.

*Supported by the NSF.

Authors

  • F. D. Cruz

    • GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fus\~{a}o Nuclear, Instituto Superior T\'{e}cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

  • Fabio Cruz

    • GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fus\~{a}o Nuclear, Instituto Superior T\'{e}cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
    • Instituto Superior Tecnico
    • Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal
    • Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
    • GoLP/IPFN, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal

  • L.O. Silva

    • GoLP/Instituto de Plasmas e Fus\~{a}o Nuclear, Instituto Superior T\'{e}cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

  • D.B. Schaeffer

    • Princeton University
    • Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
    • Princeton, University of California, Los Angeles
    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
    • Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University
    • Princeton
    • Princeton University, Princeton Center for Heliophysics

  • A. Bhattacharjee

    • Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA

  • R. S. Dorst

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California -- Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

  • P. Heuer

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California -- Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

  • C. G. Constantin

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California -- Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

  • P. Pribyl

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California -- Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

  • C. Niemann

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California -- Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA