High Repetition Rate Study of Biermann Battery Generated Magnetic Fields in Laser Produced Plasmas

ORAL

Abstract

The Biermann Battery effect is a mechanism of spontaneous magnetic field generation in both astrophysical phenomena and laser produced plasmas (LPPs). This effect is caused by non-parallel temperature and density gradients within a plasma, represented in the magnetohydrodynamic framework by the baroclinic term in the induction equation, c/(ene)▽Te Χ ▽ne. In this talk we present a high repetition rate (~1 Hz) laboratory astrophysics experiment examining the spatial structure and evolution of Biermann generated magnetic fields in LPPs. Our measurements show azimuthally symmetric magnetic fields with peak values of 60 G in our closest measurements, 0.7 cm from the target surface. Optical Thomson scattering measurements give values for the electron temperature and density of the LPP on axis of Te = 10 ± 2 eV and ne = (5.55 ± 1) Χ 1016 cm-3 respectively. The effects of background gasses on Biermann generated fields are also discussed.

*This work is supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) under award number DE-SC0019011, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Center for Matter Under Extreme Conditions under Award Number DE-NA0003842 and the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Research Program under award number DGE-1650604. The Flash Center for Computational Science acknowledges support by the U.S. DOE NNSA under Subcontracts No. 536203 and 630138 with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Subcontract B632670 with LLNL, and support from the Cooperative Agreement DE-NA0003856 to the Laboratory for Laser Energetics University of Rochester. We thank the University of Rochester's Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC). We also thank NIWC Pacific and Curtiss-Wright MIC for help with the slab laser system.

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Publication: Pilgram, J.J. and Adams, M. B. P. and Constantin, C. G. and Heuer, P. V. and Ghazaryan, S. and Kaloyan, M. and Dorst, R. S. and Schaeffer, D. B. and Tzeferacos, P. and Niemann, C., "High Repetition Rate Exploration of the Biermann Battery Effect in Laser Produced Plasmas Over Large Spatial Regions", High Power Laser Science and Engineering, Cambridge University Press, 2022, p.1–11, 10.1017/hpl.2022.2

Presenters

  • Jessica J Pilgram

    • University of California, Los Angeles

Authors

  • Jessica J Pilgram

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Carmen G Constantin

    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • UCLA

  • Marissa B Adams

    • University of Rochester

  • Robert S Dorst

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Peter V Heuer

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

  • Marietta Kaloyan

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Sofiya Ghazaryan

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Derek B Schaeffer

    • Princeton University

  • Petros Tzeferacos

    • University of Rochester
    • Univ of Rochester

  • Christoph Niemann

    • University of California, Los Angeles