The Role of Helicity in Magnetized Turbulence and Dynamo Action in Extended MHD through FLASH Simulations and OMEGA Experiments

The turbulent dynamo mechanism has emerged as a strong candidate for explaining the amplification of magnetic fields in astrophysical environments such as galaxy clusters and extra galactic disks. The small-scale turbulent dynamo leverages the kinetic energy of the turbulence to amplify weak seed magnetic fields to their observed dynamically significant strengths. Then, in the presence of large-scale motions such as rotation, magnetic fields can be further amplified at scales that exceed the turbulence inertial range, giving rise to the ordered field structures observed in stars and galaxies. Over the past decade, laser-driven experiments conducted at the Omega Laser Facility of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics have demonstrated small-scale fluctuation dynamo by ablating opposing plastic foils and seeding turbulence via grids that introduce asymmetry between the counter-propagating plumes, resulting in a turbulent interaction region. Building on this established platform and guided by high-fidelity FLASH design simulations, a new experimental platform has been developed that introduces large-scale helical motions. This advancement enables exploration of helical magnetized turbulence and its capacity to initiate and sustain large-scale magnetic fields. Complementary driven-turbulence FLASH simulations with modified forcing to ensure net helicity will accompany the experiments to aid quantifying growth rates, saturation levels, and isolating underlying mechanisms.