Field Compressing Magnetothermal Instability in Laser Plasmas

Bissell, J.J.; Ridgers, C.P.; Kingham, R.J.

Abstract

The mechanism for a new instability in magnetized plasmas is presented and a dispersion relation derived. Unstable behavior is shown to result purely from transport processes—feedback between the Nernst effect and the Righi-Leduc heat-flow phenomena in particular—neither hydrodynamic motion nor density gradients are required. Calculations based on a recent nanosecond laser gas-jet experiment [ D. H. Froula et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 135001 (2007)] predict growth of magnetic field and temperature perturbations with typical wavelengths of order 50  μm and characteristic growth times of ∼0.1  ns. The instability yields propagating magnetothermal waves whose direction depends on the magnitude of the Hall parameter.

Citation

Bissell, J., Ridgers, C., & Kingham, R. (2010). Field Compressing Magnetothermal Instability in Laser Plasmas. Physical Review Letters, 105(17), Article 175001. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.105.175001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 18, 2010
• Deposit Date: Feb 6, 2012
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Print ISSN: 0031-9007
• Electronic ISSN: 1079-7114
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 105
• Issue: 17
• Article Number: 175001
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.105.175001
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1514511