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Abstract Magnetic reconnection is a universal process in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. It alters magnetic field topology and results in energy release to the plasma. Here we report the experimental results of a pure electron outflow in magnetic reconnection, which is not accompanied with ion flows. By controlling an applied magnetic field in a laser produced plasma, we have constructed an experiment that magnetizes the electrons but not the ions. This allows us to isolate the electron dynamics from the ions. Collective Thomson scattering measurements reveal the electron Alfvénic outflow without ion outflow. The resultant plasmoid and whistler waves are observed with the magnetic induction probe measurements. We observe the unique features of electron-scale magnetic reconnection simultaneously in laser produced plasmas, including global structures, local plasma parameters, magnetic field, and waves.

Counterpropagating Alfvén waves are ubiquitously observed in many astrophysical environments, such as a star surface and a planetary foreshock. We discuss an efficient particle acceleration mechanism in two counterpropagating circularly polarized Alfvén waves. Phase transitions of particle behavior occur when wave amplitudes exceed two critical values. Above the critical amplitudes, the numerical simulation shows that any particles irreversibly gain relativistic energy within a short time regardless of their initial position and energy once the coherent waveform is formed. The accelerated particles have spatial coherence. Higher wave phase velocity requires smaller critical amplitudes, while the maximum attainable energy increases as the wavenumber and the frequency decrease. The results may be applicable in some astrophysical phenomena, as well as a future laboratory experiment using high-power lasers.

Magnetic reconnection is the process of releasing energy by magnetized and space plasma. Here the authors report experimental observation of magnetic reconnection in laser-produced plasma and the role of electron scaling on reconnection.

We have performed full particle electromagnetic simulations of a quasi-perpendicular shock. The shock parameters have been chosen to be appropriate for the quasi-perpendicular Earth's bow shock observed by Cluster on 24 January 2001 (Lobzin et al., 2007). We have performed two simulations with different ion to electron mass ratio: run 1 with mi/me=1840 and run 2 with mi/me=100. In run 1 the growth rate of the modified two-stream instability (MTSI) is large enough to get excited during the reflection and upstream gyration of part of the incident solar wind ions. The waves due to the MTSI are on the whistler mode branch and have downstream directed phase velocities in the shock frame. The Poynting flux (and wave group velocity) far upstream in the foot is also directed in the downstream direction. However, in the density and magnetic field compression region of the overshoot the waves are refracted and the Poynting flux in the shock frame is directed upstream. The MTSI is suppressed in the low mass ratio run 2. The low mass ratio run shows more clearly the non-stationarity of the shock with a larger time scale of the order of an inverse ion gyrofrequency (Ωci): the magnetic field profile flattens and steepens with a period of ~1.5Ωci−1. This non-stationarity is different from reformation seen in previous simulations of perpendicular or quasi-perpendicular shocks. Beginning with a sharp shock ramp the large electric field in the normal direction leads to high reflection rate of solar wind protons. As they propagate upstream, the ion bulk velocity decreases and the magnetic field increases in the foot, which results in a flattening of the magnetic field profile and in a decrease of the normal electric field. Subsequently the reflection rate decreases and the whole shock profile steepens again. Superimposed on this 'breathing' behavior are in the realistic mass ratio case the waves due to the MTSI. The simulations lead us to a re-interpretation of the 24 January 2001 bow shock observations reported by Lobzin et al. (2007). It is suggested that the high frequency waves observed in the magnetic field data are due to the MTSI and are not related to a nonlinear phase standing whistler. Different profiles at the different spacecraft are due to the non-stationary behavior on the larger time scale.

We have performed 3 one-dimensional full particle electromagnetic simulations of a quasi-perpendicular shock with the same Alfvén Mach number MA~5, shock normal-magnetic field angle ΘBn=87° and ion and electron beta (particle to magnetic field pressure) of 0.1. In the first run we used an ion to electron mass ratio close to the physical one (mi/me=1024). As expected from previous high mass ratio simulations the Modified Two-Stream instability develops in the foot of the shock, and the shock periodically reforms itself. We have then self-consistently included in the simulation 10% pickup protons distributed on a shell in velocity space as a third component. In a run with an unrealistically low mass ratios of 200 the shock still reforms itself; reformation is due to accumulation of specularly reflected particles at the upstream edge of the foot. In a third run including pickup protons we used a mass ratio of 1024. The shock reforms periodically as in the low mass ratio run with a somewhat smaller time constant. The specular reflection of pickup protons results in an increase of the shock potential some distance ahead of the shock foot and ramp. The minimum scale of the cross shock potential during reformation is about 7 electron inertial length λe. We do not find any pickup proton acceleration in the ramp or downstream of the shock beyond the energy which specularly reflected ions gain by the motional electric field of the solar wind during their upstream gyration.

We have performed 3 one-dimensional full particle electromagnetic simulations of a quasi-perpendicular shock with the same Alfvén Mach number MA=4.5, shock normal - magnetic field angle ΘBn=87°, and ion and electron beta (particle to magnetic field pressure) of 0.05, but with different ion to electron mass ratios (mi/me=80, 400, 1840). At high ion beta it has been shown previously that the shock is steady. At low ion beta, as in the present simulations, the shock periodically reforms itself. However, whereas at unrealistically low mass ratios the reformation is due to accumulation of specularly reflected particles at the upstream edge of the foot, at the realistic mass ratio the modified two-stream instability between the incoming solar wind ions and solar wind electrons leads to ion phase mixing and thermalization. The reformation process is thereby considerably modified. At the lowest mass ratio the Buneman instability between the solar wind electrons and the reflected ions is excited, which is stabilized at higher mass ratios.

A shock tube problem is solved numerically by using one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations under the condition that a relatively tenuous and weakly magnetized plasma is continuously pushed by a relatively dense and strongly magnetized plasma having supersonic relative velocity. A forward and a reverse shock and a contact discontinuity are self-consistently reproduced. The spatial width of the contact discontinuity increases as the angle between the discontinuity normal and ambient magnetic field decreases. The inner structure of the discontinuity shows different profiles between magnetic field and plasma density, or pressure, which is caused by a non-MHD effect of the local plasma. The region between the two shocks is turbulent. The fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma are compressible and propagating away from the contact discontinuity, although the fluctuations in the relatively tenuous plasma contain both compressible and incompressible components. The source of the compressible fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma is in the relatively tenuous plasma. Only compressible fast mode fluctuations generated in the relatively tenuous plasma are transmitted through the contact discontinuity and propagate in the relatively dense plasma. These fast mode fluctuations are steepened when passing the contact discontinuity. This wave steepening and probably other effects may cause the broadening of the wave spectrum in the very local interstellar medium plasma. The results are discussed in the context of the heliospheric boundary region or heliopause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report experimental results on Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability and resultant vortices in laser-produced plasmas. By irradiating a double plane target with a laser beam, asymmetric counterstreaming plasmas are created. The interaction of the plasmas with different velocities and densities results in the formation of asymmetric shocks, where the shear flow exists along the contact surface and the KH instability is excited. We observe the spatial and temporal evolution of plasmas and shocks with time-resolved diagnostics over several shots. Our results clearly show the evolution of transverse fluctuations, wavelike structures, and circular features, which are interpreted as the KH instability and resultant vortices. The relevant numerical simulations demonstrate the time evolution of KH vortices and show qualitative agreement with experimental results. Shocks, and thus the contact surfaces, are ubiquitous in the universe; our experimental results show general consequences where two plasmas interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond transient astrophysical phenomena and bright at radio frequencies. The emission mechanism, however, remains unsolved yet. One scenario is a coherent emission associated with the magnetar flares and resulting relativistic shock waves. Here, we report unprecedentedly large-scale simulations of relativistic magnetized ion-electron shocks, showing that strongly linear-polarized electromagnetic waves are excited. The kinetic energy conversion to the emission is so efficient that the wave amplitude is responsible for the brightness. We also find a polarization angle swing reflecting shock front modulation, implicating the polarization property of some repeating FRBs. The results support the shock scenario as an origin of the FRBs.

Magnetic reconnection in laser-produced magnetized plasma is investigated by using optical diagnostics. The magnetic field is generated via the Biermann battery effect, and the inversely directed magnetic field lines interact with each other. It is shown by self-emission measurement that two colliding plasmas stagnate on a midplane, forming two planar dense regions, and that they interact later in time. Laser Thomson scattering spectra are distorted in the direction of the self-generated magnetic field, indicating asymmetric ion velocity distribution and plasma acceleration. In addition, the spectra perpendicular to the magnetic field show different peak intensity, suggesting an electron current formation. These results are interpreted as magnetic field dissipation, reconnection, and outflow acceleration. Two-directional laser Thomson scattering is, as discussed here, a powerful tool for the investigation of microphysics in the reconnection region.

A developing supercritical collisionless shock propagating in a homogeneously magnetized plasma of ambient gas origin having higher uniformity than the previous experiments is formed by using high-power laser experiment. The ambient plasma is not contaminated by the plasma produced in the early time after the laser shot. While the observed developing shock does not have stationary downstream structure, it possesses some characteristics of a magnetized supercritical shock, which are supported by a one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulation taking the effect of finite time of laser-target interaction into account.

We present an experimental method to generate quasiperpendicular supercritical magnetized collisionless shocks. In our experiment, ambient nitrogen (N) plasma is at rest and well magnetized, and it has uniform mass density. The plasma is pushed by laser-driven ablation aluminum (Al) plasma. Streaked optical pyrometry and spatially resolved laser collective Thomson scattering clarify structures of plasma density and temperatures, which are compared with one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is indicated that just after the laser irradiation, the Al plasma is magnetized by a self-generated Biermann battery field, and the plasma slaps the incident N plasma. The compressed external field in the N plasma reflects N ions, leading to counterstreaming magnetized N flows. Namely, we identify the edge of the reflected N ions. Such interacting plasmas form a magnetized collisionless shock.

Dispersion relation and nonlinear evolution of the parametric instabilities of circularly polarized Alfvén waves in a relativistic electron-positron plasma are investigated by theoretical and numerical approaches. In the nonrelativistic limit, when 2omega(2)(p)>omega20, the characteristics of the instabilities are similar to those in an electron-ion plasma, except that the modulational instability takes place only if v(2)(s)