Laboratory Modelling of Accretion Disks and Jets on Pulsed-Power Generators and Intense Lasers*

Rotating plasma disks orbiting a central object, such as a black hole, are ubiquitous in the universe. However, questions regarding their dynamical evolution, such as the mechanisms of angular momentum transport and the role of magnetic fields in seeding instabilities, turbulence, and launching jets, remain outstanding. In this talk, I will give an overview of a new generation of laboratory experiments conducted at high-energy-density facilities (the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator and the OMEGA laser), designed to probe plasma physics relevant to accretion disks and jet-launching regions in astrophysics [1-5]. 

 

A differentially rotating plasma column is driven and sustained by the collision of multiple inflowing plasma jets. The free-boundary design allows the plasma to expand axially, forming supersonic rotating jets that remain collimated as they propagate through the vacuum chamber. Both laser and pulsed-power experiments drive high magnetic Reynolds numbers, transonic plasma flows with a quasi-Keplerian rotation curve.

 

The experiments are supported by 3-D MHD simulations performed using the code Gorgon and 2-D collisional-kinetic particle-in-cell simulations using the code OSIRIS, which model the formation, evolution, and structure of differentially rotating plasmas. I will discuss the potential of these experiments to study the magneto-rotational instability, the Omega-effect, and the overall effect of magnetic fields in high-Rm rotating plasmas on laboratory scales.

[1] Ryutov, Astrophys. Space Sci (2011)

[2] Bocchi et al., The Astrophys. J. (2013)

[3] Valenzuela-Villaseca et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2023)

[4] Valenzuela-Villaseca et al., IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. (2024)

[5] Valenzuela-Villaseca et al., Journal of Plasma Phys. (2024, in press)