In an international joint research project by 10 research institutes in Japan, Europe, and the United States using the American large-scale laser system, OMEGA EP, under the leadership of TAKABE Hideaki , Professor, and SAKAWA Youichi , Associate Professor at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, a group of researchers succeeded in experiments in the creation of ultra-high-speed plasma flows of 1,000 km/sec and the formation of shock waves by electromagnetic turbulence occurring in the early stage. This group has verified that it is possible to examine in laboratories the mechanism for forming shock waves that have been observed after the explosion of supernovas and the mechanism for accelerating cosmic rays by shock waves.

Abstract
" In astrophysical settings, large and stable structures often emerge from turbulent supersonic plasma flows. Examples are found in the cosmic magnetic field, the collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, and the Herbig-Haro (HH) objects that emerge from young stellar objects (YSOs). Self-organization occurs in plasmas when an inverse cascade progressively transfers energy from smaller scales to larger ones.
Using a scaled astrophysical environment created with high power lasers, here we show that large, stable electromagnetic field structures can spontaneously arise within counterstreaming supersonic plasmas. These structures are oriented transverse to the primary flow direction, extend for much larger distances than the intrinsic plasma spatial scales, and persist for much longer than the plasma kinetic time scales. Our results indicate that large-scale plasma self-organization can occur within astrophysically relevant plasma flows in the laboratory. These observations challenge the existing models of interpenetrating plasmas. "

Related links :

• Laser Astrophysics Group