title: Time evolution of collisionless shock in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas.
abstract: We investigated the time evolution of a strong collisionless shock in counterstreaming plasmas produced using a high-power laser pulse. The counterstreaming plasmas were generated by irradiating a CH double-plane target with the laser. In self-emission streaked optical pyrometry data, steepening of the self-emission profile as the two-plasma interaction evolved indicated shock formation. The shock thickness was less than the mean free path of the counterstreaming ions. Two-dimensional snapshots of the self-emission and shadowgrams also showed very thin shock structures. The Mach numbers estimated from the flow velocity and the brightness temperatures are very high.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, 2-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871 Japan. kuramitsu-y@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuramitsu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Waugh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dono
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanji
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Woolsey
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takabe