Radiatively Cooled Jet Experiments Using High Intensity Lasers
Abstract
Simulations of high Mach-number astrophysical jets, such as Herbig-Haro (HH) objects, are strongly affected by radiative cooling. Recent experimental studies show that a radiatively-collapsing jet can be created in thelaboratory using high power lasers [1]. A follow-up experiment was performed at the GEKKO-XII laser facility using conical targets of Au, Fe, Al, and CH. We observed well-collimated jets in x-ray emission, whose diameter increases as atomic number decreases. This implies that the strength of radiative cooling is a sensitive function of the plasma average ionization level, allowing the degree of radiative cooling to be experimentally adjusted. We compare the experimental results with 2-D LASNEX simulations. 1.D. R. Farley et al., in press, Phys. Rev. Lett. (1999).
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- November 1999
- Bibcode:
- 1999APS..DPP.FO107S