Highly Resolved Measurements of a Developing Strong Collisional Plasma Shock

The structure of a strong collisional shock front forming in a plasma is directly probed for the first time in laser-driven gas-jet experiments. Thomson scattering of a 526.5 nm probe beam was used to diagnose temperature and ion velocity distribution in a strong shock (M∼11) propagating through a l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2018-03, Vol.120 (9), p.095001-095001, Article 095001
Main Authors: Rinderknecht, Hans G, Park, H-S, Ross, J S, Amendt, P A, Higginson, D P, Wilks, S C, Haberberger, D, Katz, J, Froula, D H, Hoffman, N M, Kagan, G, Keenan, B D, Vold, E L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Collisional plasmas
high-energy-density plasmas
Ion velocity
kinetic theory
Lasers
Plasma
plasma instabilities
shock waves & discontinuities in plasma
Thomson scattering
Velocity distribution
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Summary:The structure of a strong collisional shock front forming in a plasma is directly probed for the first time in laser-driven gas-jet experiments. Thomson scattering of a 526.5 nm probe beam was used to diagnose temperature and ion velocity distribution in a strong shock (M∼11) propagating through a low-density (ρ∼0.01  mg/cc) plasma composed of hydrogen. A forward-streaming population of ions traveling in excess of the shock velocity was observed to heat and slow down on an unmoving, unshocked population of cold protons, until ultimately the populations merge and begin to thermalize. Instabilities are observed during the merging, indicating a uniquely plasma-phase process in shock front formation.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.095001