Scaled laboratory experiments explain the kink behaviour of the Crab Nebula jet

Scaled laboratory experiments explain the kink behaviour of the Crab Nebula jet

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The remarkable discovery by the Chandra X-ray observatory that the Crab nebula's jet periodically changes direction provides a challenge to our understanding of astrophysical jet dynamics. It has been suggested that this phenomenon may be the consequence of magnetic fields and magnetohydrodynam...

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Xehetasun bibliografikoak
Egile Nagusiak: Li, C, Tzeferacos, P, Lamb, D, Gregori, G, Norreys, P, Rosenberg, M, Follett, R, Froula, D, Koenig, M, Seguin, F, Frenje, J, Rinderknecht, H, Sio, H, Zylstra, A, Petrasso, R, Amendt, P, Park, H, Remington, B, Ryutov, D, Wilks, S, Betti, R, Frank, A, Hu, S, Sangster, T, Hartigan, P, Drake, R, Kuranz, C, Lebedev, S, Woolsey, N
Formatua: Journal article
Argitaratua: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Deskribapena
Gaia:The remarkable discovery by the Chandra X-ray observatory that the Crab nebula's jet periodically changes direction provides a challenge to our understanding of astrophysical jet dynamics. It has been suggested that this phenomenon may be the consequence of magnetic fields and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, but experimental demonstration in a controlled laboratory environment has remained elusive. Here we report experiments that use high-power lasers to create a plasma jet that can be directly compared with the Crab jet through well-defined physical scaling laws. The jet generates its own embedded toroidal magnetic fields; as it moves, plasma instabilities result in multiple deflections of the propagation direction, mimicking the kink behaviour of the Crab jet. The experiment is modelled with three-dimensional numerical simulations that show exactly how the instability develops and results in changes of direction of the jet.

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