Designs of experiments for studies of strongly collimated magnetized laser-driven plasma*

The solar corona is the outermost atmosphere of the Sun that is comprised of strongly magnetized plasma. The design for upcoming laboratory astrophysics experiments at the Omega laser facility of the University of Rochester to study the collimation of magnetized plasma jets due to a strong background magnetic field will be shown. In our experiments, a thin plastic foil is heated with laser beams producing a plasma plume from the rear surface of the foil. A 400 kGauss magnetic field is applied co-axially to a plume. Simulations of the experiments using the FLASH code show collimation of the plasma due to the applied magnetic field. In preparation for the experiments, synthetic diagnostic data have been produced based on the simulated profiles. Synthetic images of the plume backlighted by a Gd foil show a distinct difference in the morphology of the plasma with and without a magnetic field. The synthetic proton radiography images show an accumulation of magnetic field at the edge of the plasma jets. The temperature is estimated using synthetic x-ray spectroscopy.