The evolution of magnetic tower jets in the laboratory

Abstract

The evolution of laboratory produced magnetic jets is followed numerically through three-dimensional, non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The experiments are designed to study the interaction of a purely toroidal field with an extended plasma background medium. The system is observed to evolve into a structure consisting of an approximately cylindrical magnetic cavity with an embedded magnetically confined jet on its axis. The supersonic expansion produces a shell of swept-up shocked plasma which surrounds and partially confines the magnetic tower. Currents initially flow along the walls of the cavity and in the jet but the development of current-driven instabilities leads to the disruption of the jet and a re-arrangement of the field and currents. The top of the cavity breaks-up and a well collimated, radiatively cooled, 'clumpy' jet emerges from the system.

34 Pages, 10 Figure, Accepted for publication in Physics of Plasmas

References in corpus (3)

• Structure of Magnetic Tower Jets in Stratified Atmospheres
• Magnetic Jets from Swirling Disks
• Astrophysical Explosions Driven by a Rotating, Magnetized, Gravitating Sphere

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• Episodic Magnetic Bubbles and Jets: Astrophysical Implications from Laboratory Experiments
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• Curved Herbig-Haro Jets: Simulations and Experiments