High-power laser experiment on developing supercritical shock propagating in homogeneously magnetized plasma of ambient gas origin

TL;DR

This paper reports a high-power laser experiment that successfully creates a developing supercritical collisionless shock in a uniform, magnetized ambient plasma, providing insights into shock formation without contamination from initial plasma.

Contribution

It demonstrates the formation of a developing supercritical shock in a homogeneous magnetized plasma using high-power laser techniques, with validation from particle-in-cell simulations.

Findings

Shock exhibits characteristics of a magnetized supercritical shock

Ambient plasma remains uncontaminated by early laser-produced plasma

Simulation supports experimental observations

Abstract

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.