Toward the Generation of Magnetized Collisionless Shocks with High-Power Lasers

Abstract

We have started a project of experimental generation of low Mach number collisionless shocks propagating into magnetized plasma, using high power lasers such as Gekko XII at Institute of laser engineering, Osaka University. We briefly present a result of our first experiments done in September 2014, in which Aluminum plane target was irradiated by main laser in ambient Helium gas with external magnetic field. Ejected Aluminum plasma had a bulk velocity of 430 km s⁻¹, which is sufficient enough to excite the magnetized collisionless shock in our experimental setup. However, the ejected Aluminum plasma was decelerated before the shock was excited.