Collisionless plasma astrophysics simulation experiments using lasers

Laboratory experiment is an attractive method of exploring the plasma physics that may occur in solar and astrophysical shocks. An experiment enables repeated and detailed measurements of a plasma as the input conditions are adjusted. To form a scaled experiment of an astrophysical shock a plasma physics model of the shock is required, and the important dimensionless parameters identified and reproduced in the laboratory. A laboratory simulation of a young supernova remnant is described. The experiment uses the interaction of two millimetre-sized counter-streaming laser-produced plasmas placed in a strong transverse magnetic field to achieve this scaling. The collision-free dynamics of the two plasmas and their interaction are studied with and without the magnetic field through spatially and temporally resolved optical measurements. Laboratory astroplasma physics experiments using high-energy, high-power laser technology enables us to reproduce in the laboratory the conditions of temperature and pressure that are met in extreme stellar environments.