2023/10/28 by J. Griff-McMahon, Griff-McMahon, J., S. Malko +13 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #FOS: Physical sciences #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2310.18592
openalex publication_date 2023/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Magnetic fields generated from a laser-foil interaction are measured with high fidelity using a proton radiography scheme with in situ x-ray fiducials. In contrast to prior findings under similar experimental conditions, this technique reveals the self-generated, Biermann-battery fields extend beyond the edge of the expanding plasma plume to a radius of over 3.5 mm by t=+1.4 ns, a result not captured in state-of-the-art magneto-hydrodynamics simulations. An analysis of two mono-energetic proton populations confirms that proton deflection is dominated by magnetic fields far from the interaction (>2 mm) and electric fields are insignificant. Comparisons to prior work suggest a new physics mechanism for the magnetic field generation and transport in laser-solid interactions.