Plasma jets injected into an external magnetic field and background plasma using electrodynamic coaxial accelerators can be used for limited laboratory modeling of various astrophysical phenomena, including jet formation, matter accretion in young stars, and supernova explosions. Estimates show that modeling such characteristic astrophysical phenomena as, for example, the generation of quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks, requires relatively high plasma flow velocities—at least 100 km/s. Model experiments conducted at the large-scale “Krot” facility utilized a new power supply system for the coaxial accelerator, which allowed for an order-of-magnitude increase in the energy of the generated plasma and a several-fold increase in its velocity compared to the results obtained previously 1, 2. Increasing the energy of the carbon-hydrogen plasma jet allows for an increased scale of its interaction with the magnetic field and background plasma, bringing the experimental conditions closer to the collisionless expansion regime, which is relevant for solving problems in space plasma dynamics. Specifically, using diagnostics based on synchronous high-speed plasma imaging and magnetic probe measurements, plasma fractions were identified that most likely represent ions of different masses accelerated to various energies, including a fraction with velocities exceeding 100 km/s. The picture of plasma flow instabilities, flute instabilities mainly, became much richer with increasing plasma flow energy and velocity compared to previous observations.
Nikolenko et al. (Mon,) studied this question.