Numerical Modeling of Laser-Driven Turbulent Plasmas to Study Fluctuation Dynamo and the Role of Astrophysical Magnetic Fields

ORAL

Abstract

Dynamo in astrophysical turbulence is a key process for amplifying magnetic fields. The advent of high-power laser systems, along with the scaling of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), has made it possible to recreate astrophysical conditions and processes in terrestrial laboratories. Our recent work has studied the role of magnetic fields with large magnetic Reynolds numbers, above-unity magnetic Prandtl numbers, and in the supersonic and radiative regimes. We present 3-D radiation-MHD FLASH simulations used to design and interpret laser-driven plasma experiments of fluctuation dynamo. At the National Ignition Facility, we demonstrated that magnetized turbulence can strongly suppress local heat transport by two orders of magnitude or more, relevant to the heat transport in astrophysical plasmas in galaxy clusters. On Laser Mégajoule PETAL, we created a magnetized, turbulent, and supersonic plasma that can be applied to understanding turbulence and field amplification in supersonic regimes such as those in the interstellar medium. We present an overview of the design and interpretation of these experiments using the FLASH code. We validated and compared the numerical results with experimental data using synthetic diagnostics such as proton radiography, Thomson scattering, and x-ray self-emission.

*This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Numbers DE-NA0003856, DE-NA0002724, DE-NA0003605, DE-NA0003842, DE-NA0003934, and Subcontracts 536203 and 630138 with LANL and B632670 with LLNL; the NSF under Award PHY-2033925; and the U.S. DOE Office of Science Fusion Energy Sciences under Award DE-SC0021990.

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Presenters

  • Yingchao Lu

    • University of Rochester

Authors

  • Yingchao Lu

    • University of Rochester

  • Adam Reyes

    • University of Rochester

  • Dustin Froula

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

  • Petros Tzeferacos

    • University of Rochester
    • Univ of Rochester

  • Archie F Bott

    • Princeton University

  • Scott Feister

    • California State University, Channel Isl
    • California State University, Channel Islands
    • California State University Channel Islands

  • Benjamin Khiar

    • ONERA

  • Jena Meinecke

    • University of Oxford

  • Hannah Poole

    • University of Oxford

  • Laura E Chen

    • University of Oxford

  • Alexander A Schekochihin

    • University of Oxford

  • Gianluca Gregori

    • University of Oxford

  • Chikang Li

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Hye-Sook Park

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • LLNL

  • Bruce A Remington

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab

  • Steven S Ross

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Alexis Casner

    • CEA CESTA

  • Don Q Lamb

    • University of Chicago