{"id":472452,"date":"2021-03-25T09:30:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T13:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=472452"},"modified":"2021-04-16T14:30:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T18:30:20","slug":"laser-driven-experiments-provide-insights-into-the-formation-of-the-universe-472452","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/laser-driven-experiments-provide-insights-into-the-formation-of-the-universe-472452\/","title":{"rendered":"Laser-driven experiments provide insights into the formation of the universe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics are the first to experimentally measure the mechanism responsible for generating astrophysical magnetic fields.<\/h2>\n

An international research collaboration, co-led by researchers at the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a>\u2019s Laboratory for Laser Energetics<\/a> (LLE) and the University of Oxford, has captured for the first time in a laboratory setting the process thought to be responsible for generating and sustaining astrophysical magnetic fields.<\/p>\n

Publishing their results in the\u00a0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em><\/a>, the team reports the findings could help explain the origin of large-scale magnetic fields that have been observed but didn\u2019t match theoretical calculations.<\/p>\n

The work is the latest to refine further scientists\u2019 understanding of a once-elusive phenomenon known as a \u201cturbulent dynamo,\u201d an astrophysical process that amplifies magnetic fields. By creating experimental conditions that mimic most hot, diffuse plasmas in the universe\u2014conditions in which the turbulent dynamo mechanism is thought to operate\u2014the team was able to quantify the rate at which a turbulent dynamo amplifies magnetic fields. Up until now, the rate had only been predicted theoretically and via numerical simulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rapid amplification we found exceeds theoretical expectations and could help explain the origin of the present-day large-scale fields that are observed in galaxy clusters,\u201d says Petros Tzeferacos<\/a>, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Rochester and a senior scientist at the LLE.<\/p>\n

The researchers\u2014part of the Turbulent Dynamo (TDYNO) team\u2014conducted their experimental research at the LLE\u2019s Omega Laser Facility, where they had previously demonstrated experimentally the existence of the turbulent dynamo mechanism<\/a>. That breakthrough earned the team the 2019 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research<\/a> from the American Physical Society.<\/p>\n

Using laser beams whose total power is equivalent to that of 10,000 nuclear reactors, the researchers were able to study plasma at energy levels that previous liquid-metal and laser-driven experiments could not.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstanding how and at what rates magnetic fields are amplified at macroscopic scales in astrophysical turbulence is key for explaining the magnetic fields seen in galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the universe,\u201d says Archie Bott<\/a>, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton and lead author of the study. \u201cWhile numerical models and theory predict fast turbulent dynamo amplification at very small scales compared to turbulent motions, it had remained uncertain as to whether the mechanism operates rapidly enough to account for dynamically significantly fields on the largest scales.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experiments demonstrated that turbulent dynamo\u2014when operating in a realistic plasma\u2014can generate large-scale magnetic fields much more rapidly than currently expected by theorists.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur theoretical understanding of the workings of turbulent dynamo has grown continuously for over half a century,\u201d says Gianluca Gregori<\/a>, professor of physics at the University of Oxford and the experimental lead of the project. \u201cOur recent laser-driven experiments were able to address for the first time how turbulent dynamo evolves in time, enabling us to experimentally measure its actual growth rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experiments were designed using numerical simulations performed with the FLASH code, a publicly available simulation code that can accurately model laser-driven experiments of laboratory plasmas. FLASH is developed by the Flash Center for Computational Science<\/a>, which recently moved from the University of Chicago to the URochester.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to do high-fidelity, predictive modeling with FLASH, and the state-of-the art diagnostic capabilities of the Omega Laser Facility at the LLE, have put our team in a unique position to decisively advance our understanding of how cosmic magnetic fields come to be,\u201d says Tzeferacos, who also serves as director of the Flash Center at Rochester.<\/p>\n

The project was funded by the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the European Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the National Laser Users\u2019 Facility of DOE\u2019s National Nuclear Security Administration, and the ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge of the DOE Office of Science.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\"AElusive \u2018turbulent dynamo\u2019 phenomenon observed at OMEGA laser<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe universe is filled with magnetic fields; and how it got that way has long been a mystery. To explain the magnetization of the universe, scientists proposed the existence of a phenomenon called \u201cturbulent dynamo.\u201d The phenomenon had before actually measured or observed directly\u2014until recently.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"PetrosTwo LLE scientists awarded DOE funding for fusion research<\/strong><\/a>
\nTwo awards from the Department of Energy will help Rochester scientists work to develop timely, commercially viable fusion energy.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"JohnNew research unlocks clues about Earth\u2019s magnetic field<\/strong><\/a>
\nProfessor John Tarduno has analyzed zircon crystals collected from sites in Australia\u2014the oldest known terrestrial materials\u2014to construct a timeline of Earth\u2019s magnetic field, finding that the field was stronger than previously believed.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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