Gigagauss magnetic field generation by bladed microtube implosion

TL;DR

This paper reports the creation of gigagauss magnetic fields through laser-driven implosion of a specially designed microtube with a sawtooth pattern, revealing new physics of plasma dynamics and magnetic field generation.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel microtube target design and demonstrates ultrahigh magnetic field generation via laser-induced plasma implosion, supported by simulations and analytical modeling.

Findings

Generation of gigagauss magnetic fields using microtube implosion.

Identification of vortex-shaped ion and electron flows near the center.

Scaling laws for magnetic field strength and confinement.

Abstract

We demonstrate the generation of ultrahigh magnetic fields in the order of gigagauss using a bladed microtube target whose inner surface is periodically slanted in a sawtooth-like pattern. When irradiated by ultra-intense, ultrashort laser pulses, hot electrons with MeV energies are produced at the outer surface and swiftly transported to the inner surface, initiating a rapid implosion of plasma toward the central axis. The unique blade-induced asymmetry gives rise to vortex-shaped flows of ions and electrons near the center, forming strong azimuthal loop currents that generate ultrahigh magnetic fields at the center. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, supported by a simple analytical model, elucidate the underlying physics and reveal key scaling laws governing the field strength and spatial confinement.