# Publications

## Studying astrophysical collisionless shocks with counterstreaming plasmas from high power lasers

High Energy Density Physics 8 (2012) 38-45

H-S Park, DD Ryutov, JS Ross, NL Kugland, SH Glenzer, C Plechaty, SM Pollaine, BA Remington, A Spitkovsky, L Gargate, G Gregori, A Bell, C Murphy, Y Sakawa, Y Kuramitsu, T Morita, H Takabe, DH Froula, G Fiksel, F Miniati, M Koenig, A Ravasio, A Pelka, E Liang, N Woolsey, CC Kuranz, RP Drake, MJ Grosskopf

Collisions of high Mach number flows occur frequently in astrophysics, and the resulting shock waves are responsible for the properties of many astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova remnants, Gamma Ray Bursts and jets from Active Galactic Nuclei. Because of the low density of astrophysical plasmas, the mean free path due to Coulomb collisions is typically very large. Therefore, most shock waves in astrophysics are "collisionless", since they form due to plasma instabilities and self-generated magnetic fields. Laboratory experiments at the laser facilities can achieve the conditions necessary for the formation of collisionless shocks, and will provide a unique avenue for studying the nonlinear physics of collisionless shock waves. We are performing a series of experiments at the Omega and Omega-EP lasers, in Rochester, NY, with the goal of generating collisionless shock conditions by the collision of two high-speed plasma flows resulting from laser ablation of solid targets using ∼10 W/cm laser irradiation. The experiments will aim to answer several questions of relevance to collisionless shock physics: the importance of the electromagnetic filamentation (Weibel) instabilities in shock formation, the self-generation of magnetic fields in shocks, the influence of external magnetic fields on shock formation, and the signatures of particle acceleration in shocks. Our first experiments using Thomson scattering diagnostics studied the plasma state from a single foil and from double foils whose flows collide "head-on" Our data showed that the flow velocity and electron density were 10 cm/s and 10 cm , respectively, where the Coulomb mean free path is much larger than the size of the interaction region. Simulations of our experimental conditions show that weak Weibel mediated current filamentation and magnetic field generation were likely starting to occur. This paper presents the results from these first Omega experiments. © 2011.

## The Epoch of Disk Settling: z~1 to Now

ArXiv (2012)

SA Kassin, BJ Weiner, SM Faber, JP Gardner, CNA Willmer, AL Coil, MC Cooper, J Devriendt, AA Dutton, P Guhathakurta, DC Koo, AJ Metevier, KG Noeske, JR Primack

We present evidence from a sample of 544 galaxies from the DEEP2 Survey for evolution of the internal kinematics of blue galaxies with stellar masses ranging 8.0 < log M* (M_Sun) < 10.7 over 0.2<z<1.2. DEEP2 provides galaxy spectra and Hubble imaging from which we measure emission-line kinematics and galaxy inclinations, respectively. Our large sample allows us to overcome scatter intrinsic to galaxy properties in order to examine trends in kinematics. We find that at a fixed stellar mass galaxies systematically decrease in disordered motions and increase in rotation velocity and potential well depth with time. Massive galaxies are the most well-ordered at all times examined, with higher rotation velocities and less disordered motions than less massive galaxies. We quantify disordered motions with an integrated gas velocity dispersion corrected for beam smearing (sigma_g). It is unlike the typical pressure-supported velocity dispersion measured for early type galaxies and galaxy bulges. Because both seeing and the width of our spectral slits comprise a significant fraction of the galaxy sizes, sigma_g integrates over velocity gradients on large scales which can correspond to non-ordered gas kinematics. We compile measurements of galaxy kinematics from the literature over 1.2<z<3.8 and do not find any trends with redshift, likely for the most part because these datasets are biased toward the most highly star-forming systems. In summary, over the last ~8 billion years since z=1.2, blue galaxies evolve from disordered to ordered systems as they settle to become the rotation-dominated disk galaxies observed in the Universe today, with the most massive galaxies being the most evolved at any time.

## Inverse Compton X-ray halos around high-z radio galaxies: A feedback mechanism powered by far-infrared starbursts or the CMB?

ArXiv (2012)

I Smail, KM Blundell, BD Lehmer, DM Alexander

We report the detection of extended X-ray emission around two powerful high-z radio galaxies (HzRGs) at z~3.6 (4C03.24 & 4C19.71) and use these to investigate the origin of extended, Inverse Compton (IC) powered X-ray halos at high z. The halos have X-ray luminosities of Lx~3e44 erg/s and sizes of ~60kpc. Their morphologies are broadly similar to the ~60-kpc long radio lobes around these galaxies suggesting they are formed from IC scattering by relativistic electrons in the radio lobes, of either CMB or FIR photons from the dust-obscured starbursts in these galaxies. These observations double the number of z>3 HzRGs with X-ray detected IC halos. We compare the IC X-ray to radio luminosity ratios for these new detections to the two previously detected z~3.8 HzRGs. Given the similar redshifts, we would expect comparable X-ray IC luminosities if CMB mm photons are the seed field for the IC emission. Instead the two z~3.6 HzRGs, which are ~4x fainter in the FIR, also have ~4x fainter X-ray IC emission. Including a further six z>2 radio sources with IC X-ray halos from the literature, we suggest that in the more compact (lobe sizes <100-200kpc), majority of radio sources, the bulk of the IC emission may be driven by scattering of locally produced FIR photons from luminous, dust-obscured starbursts within these galaxies, rather than CMB photons. The resulting X-ray emission can ionise the gas on ~100-200-kpc scales around these systems and thus form their extended Ly-alpha emission line halos. The starburst and AGN activity in these galaxies are thus combining to produce an effective and wide-spread "feedback" process, acting on the long-term gas reservoir for the galaxy. If episodic radio activity and co-eval starbursts are common in massive, high-z galaxies, then this IC-feedback mechanism may affect the star-formation histories of massive galaxies. [Abridged]

## Measuring electron-positron annihilation radiation from laser plasma interactions

Review of Scientific Instruments 83 (2012)

H Chen, R Tommasini, J Seely, CI Szabo, U Feldman, N Pereira, G Gregori, K Falk, J Mithen, CD Murphy

We investigated various diagnostic techniques to measure the 511 keV annihilation radiations. These include step-wedge filters, transmission crystal spectroscopy, single-hit CCD detectors, and streaked scintillating detection. While none of the diagnostics recorded conclusive results, the step-wedge filter that is sensitive to the energy range between 100 keV and 700 keV shows a signal around 500 keV that is clearly departing from a pure Bremsstrahlung spectrum and that we ascribe to annihilation radiation. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

## Global gyrokinetic turbulence simulations of MAST plasmas

Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 54 (2012)

S Saarelma, G Colyer, AR Field, CM Roach, A Bottino, P Hill, B McMillan, A Peeters

Electrostatic gyrokinetic analyses are presented for an L-mode discharge with an internal transport barrier, from the spherical tokamak, MAST. Local and global microstability analysis finds similar linear growth rates for ion temperature gradient (ITG) driven modes. When the electron response is assumed to be adiabatic, growth rates are found to be lower than the experimental E×B flow shearing rate. Including kinetic electrons, without collisions, increases the ITG growth rates above the flow shearing rate, and these modes are found to be linearly unstable in the outer part of the plasma only. In global simulations the flow shear stabilization is found to be asymmetric with respect to the direction of the flow: there is a small destabilizing effect at low flow shear when the flow is in the co-direction. Global non-linear simulations with kinetic electrons and including the flow shear effects predict turbulent ion heat transport that is well above the neoclassical level in the region outside the internal transport barrier in this MAST plasma. In non-linear simulations we also find turbulence extending from the outer part of the plasma into the linearly stable core region. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd.

## The X-ray luminous cluster underlying the z = 1.04 quasar PKS1229-021

ArXiv (2012)

HR Russell, AC Fabian, GB Taylor, JS Sanders, KM Blundell, CS Crawford, RM Johnstone, E Belsole

We present a 100 ks Chandra observation studying the extended X-ray emission around the powerful z=1.04 quasar PKS1229-021. The diffuse cluster X-ray emission can be traced out to ~15 arcsec (~120 kpc) radius and there is a drop in the calculated hardness ratio inside the central 5 arcsec consistent with the presence of a cool core. Radio observations of the quasar show a strong core and a bright, one-sided jet leading to the SW hot spot and a second hot spot visible on the counter-jet side. Although the wings of the quasar PSF provided a significant contribution to the total X-ray flux at all radii where the extended cluster emission was detected, we were able to accurately subtract off the PSF emission using ChaRT and marx simulations. The resulting steep cluster surface brightness profile for PKS1229-021 appears similar to the profile for the FRII radio galaxy 3C444, which has a similarly rapid surface brightness drop caused by a powerful shock surrounding the radio lobes (Croston et al.). Using a model surface brightness profile based on 3C444, we estimated the total cluster luminosity for PKS1229-021 to be L_X ~ 2 x 10^{44} erg/s. We discuss the difficulty of detecting cool core clusters, which host bright X-ray sources, in high redshift surveys.

## THE EPOCH OF DISK SETTLING: z similar to 1 TO NOW

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 758 (2012) ARTN 106

SA Kassin, BJ Weiner, SM Faber, JP Gardner, CNA Willmer, AL Coil, MC Cooper, J Devriendt, AA Dutton, P Guhathakurta, DC Koo, AJ Metevier, KG Noeske, JR Primack

## A filamentation instability for streaming cosmic rays

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 419 (2012) 2433-2440

B Reville, AR Bell

We demonstrate that cosmic rays form filamentary structures in the precursors of supernova remnant shocks due to their self-generated magnetic fields. The cosmic ray filamentation results in the growth of a long-wavelength instability, and naturally couples the rapid non-linear amplification on small scales to larger length-scales. Hybrid magnetohydrodynamics-particle simulations are performed to confirm the effect. The resulting large-scale magnetic field may facilitate the scattering of high-energy cosmic rays as required to accelerate protons beyond the knee in the cosmic ray spectrum at supernova remnant shocks. Filamentation far upstream of the shock may also assist in the escape of cosmic rays from the accelerator. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.

## The non-thermal emission of extended radio galaxy lobes with curved electron spectra

ArXiv (2011)

P Duffy, KM Blundell

The existing theoretical framework for the energies stored in the synchrotron-emitting lobes of radio galaxies and quasars doesn't properly account for the curved spectral shape that many of them exhibit. We characterise these spectra using parameters that are straightforwardly observable in the era of high-resolution, low-frequency radio astronomy: the spectral curvature and the turnover in the frequency spectrum. This characterisation gives the Lorentz factor at the turnover in the energy distribution (we point out that this is distinctly different from the Lorentz factor corresponding to the turnover frequency in a way that depends on the amount of curvature in the spectrum) and readily gives the equipartition magnetic field strength and the total energy of the radiating plasma obviating the need for any assumed values of the cutoff frequencies to calculate these important physical quantities. This framework readily yields the form of the X-ray emission due to inverse-Compton (IC) scattering of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons by the electrons in the plasma having Lorentz factors of $\sim$1000. We also present the contribution to CMB anisotropies due to relativistic plasmas such as giant radio galaxy lobes, expressed in terms of the extent to which the lobes have their magnetic field and particle energies are in equipartition with one another.

## Measurement of radiative shock properties by X-ray Thomson scattering

Physical Review Letters 108 (2012)

AJ Visco, RP Drake, MJ Grosskopf, SH Glenzer, T Döppner, G Gregori, DH Froula

X-ray Thomson scattering has enabled us to measure the temperature of a shocked layer, produced in the laboratory, that is relevant to shocks emerging from supernovas. High energy lasers are used to create a shock in argon gas which is probed by x-ray scattering. The scattered, inelastic Compton feature allows inference of the electron temperature. It is measured to be 34 eV in the radiative precursor and ∼60eV near the shock. Comparison of energy fluxes implied by the data demonstrates that the shock wave is strongly radiative. © 2012 American Physical Society.

## A new formula for disc kinematics

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 419 (2012) 1546-1556

R Schönrich, J Binney

In a disc galaxy, the distribution of azimuthal components of velocity is very skew. In the past, this skewness has been modelled by superposed Gaussians. We use dynamical arguments to derive an analytic formula that can be fitted to observed velocity distributions, and validate it by fits to the velocities derived from a dynamically rigorous model, and to a sample of local stars with accurate space velocities. Our formula is much easier to use than a full distribution function. It has fewer parameters than a multi-Gaussian fit, and the best-fitting model parameters give insight into the underlying disc dynamics. In particular, once the azimuthal velocities of a sample have been successfully fitted, the apparatus provides a prediction for the corresponding distribution of radial velocitiesv. An effective formula like ours is invaluable when fitting to data for stars at some distance from the Sun because it enables one to make proper allowance for the errors in distance and proper motion when determining the underlying disc kinematics. The derivation of our formula elucidates the way the horizontal and vertical motions are closely intertwined, and makes it evident that no stellar population can have a scaleheight and vertical velocity dispersions that are simultaneously independent of radius. We show that the oscillation of a star perpendicular to the Galactic plane modifies the effective potential in which the star moves radially in such a way that the more vertical energy a star has, the larger is the mean radius of its orbit. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.

## Concepts in Thermal Physics 2nd Edition

, 2012

SJ Blundell, KM Blundell

## Plasma switch as a temporal overlap tool for pump-probe experiments at FEL facilities

Journal of Instrumentation 7 (2012)

M Harmand, S Düsterer, T Laarmann, A Przystawik, H Redlin, M Schulz, F Tavella, S Toleikis, D Murphy, D Brown, G Gregori, T White, M Cammarata, D Fritz, J Lee, H Lemke, T Döppner, H Glenzer, E Förster, V Hilbert, U Zastrau, J Gaudin, T Tschentscher, S Göde, K-H Meiwes-Broer, S Skruszewicz, D Hochhaus, P Neumayer, E Galtier, A Moinard

We have developed an easy-to-use and reliable timing tool to determine the arrival time of an optical laser and a free electron laser (FEL) pulses within the jitter limitation. This timing tool can be used from XUV to X-rays and exploits high FELs intensities. It uses a shadowgraph technique where we optically (at 800 nm) image a plasma created by an intense XUV or X-ray FEL pulse on a transparent sample (glass slide) directly placed at the pump - probe sample position. It is based on the physical principle that the optical properties of the material are drastically changed when its free electron density reaches the critical density. At this point the excited glass sample becomes opaque to the optical laser pulse. The ultra-short and intense XUV or X-ray FEL pulse ensures that a critical electron density can be reached via photoionization and subsequent collisional ionization within the XUV or X-ray FEL pulse duration or even faster. This technique allows to determine the relative arrival time between the optical laser and the FEL pulses in only few single shots with an accuracy mainly limited by the optical laser pulse duration and the jitter between the FEL and the optical laser. Considering the major interest in pump-probe experiments at FEL facilities in general, such a femtosecond resolution timing tool is of utmost importance. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.

## Lyman-alpha emission properties of simulated galaxies: interstellar medium structure and inclination effects

ArXiv (2012)

A Verhamme, Y Dubois, J Blaizot, T Garel, R Bacon, J Devriendt, B Guiderdoni, A Slyz

[abridged] Aims. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of the interstellar medium (ISM) physics on Lyman-alpha (Lya) radiation transfer and to quantify how galaxy orientation with respect to the line of sight alters observational signatures. Methods. We compare the results of Lya radiation transfer calculations through the ISM of a couple of idealized galaxy simulations with different ISM models. Results. First, the small-scale structuration of the ISM plays a determinant role in shaping a galaxys Lya properties.The artificially warm, and hence smooth, ISM of G1 yields an escape fraction of 50 percent at the Lya line center, and produces symmetrical double-peak profiles. On the contrary, in G2, most young stars are embedded in thick star-forming clouds, and the result is a 10 times lower escape fraction. G2 also displays a stronger outflowing velocity field, which favors the escape of red-shifted photons, resulting in an asymmetric Lya line. Second, the Lya properties of G2 strongly depend on the inclination at which it is observed: From edge-on to face-on, the line goes from a double-peak profile with an equivalent width of -5 Angstrom to a 15 times more luminous red-shifted asymmetric line with EW 90 Angstrom. Conclusions. Lya radiation transfer calculations can only lead to realistic properties in simulations where galaxies are resolved into giant molecular clouds, putting these calculations out of reach of current large scale cosmological simulations. Finally, we find inclination effects to be much stronger for Lya photons than for continuum radiation. This could potentially introduce severe biases in the selection function of narrow-band Lya emitter surveys, which could indeed miss a significant fraction of the high-z galaxy population.

## Self-organized electromagnetic field structures in laser-produced counter-streaming plasmas

Nature Physics 8 (2012) 809-812

NL Kugland, DD Ryutov, SH Glenzer, MC Levy, C Plechaty, BA Remington, JS Ross, H-S Park, P-Y Chang, G Fiksel, DH Froula, RP Drake, M Grosskopf, C Kuranz, G Gregori, J Meinecke, B Reville, M Koenig, A Pelka, A Ravasio, Y Kuramitsu, T Morita, Y Sakawa, H Takabe, E Liang, F Miniati, R Presura, A Spitkovsky

Self-organization occurs in plasmas when energy progressively transfers from smaller to larger scales in an inverse cascade. Global structures that emerge from turbulent plasmas can be found in the laboratory and in astrophysical settings; for example, the cosmic magnetic field, collisionless shocks in supernova remnants and the internal structures of newly formed stars known as Herbig-Haro objects. Here we show that large, stable electromagnetic field structures can also arise within counter-streaming supersonic plasmas in the laboratory. These surprising structures, formed by a yet unexplained mechanism, are predominantly 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 timescales. Our results challenge existing models of counter-streaming plasmas and can be used to better understand large-scale and long-time plasma self-organization. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

## Analysing surveys of our Galaxy - I. Basic astrometric data

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 419 (2012) 2251-2263

PJ McMillan, J Binney

## X-ray surface brightness and gas density fluctuations in the Coma cluster

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 421 (2012) 1123-1135

E Churazov, I Zhuravleva, R Sunyaev, A Vikhlinin, W Forman, S Randall, A Schekochihin, I Parrish, H Böhringer

X-ray surface brightness fluctuations in the core (650 × 650 kpc) region of the Coma cluster observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra are analysed using a 2D power spectrum approach. The resulting 2D spectra are converted to 3D power spectra of gas density fluctuations. Our independent analyses of the XMM-Newton and Chandra observations are in excellent agreement and provide the most sensitive measurements of surface brightness and density fluctuations for a hot cluster. We find that the characteristic amplitude of the volume filling density fluctuations relative to the smooth underlying density distribution varies from 7-10 per cent on scales of ~500kpc down to ~5 per cent on scales of ~30kpc. On smaller spatial scales, projection effects smear the density fluctuations by a large factor, precluding strong limits on the fluctuations in 3D. On the largest scales probed (hundreds of kpc), the dominant contributions to the observed fluctuations most likely arise from perturbations of the gravitational potential by the two most massive galaxies in Coma, NGC4874 and NGC4889, and the low-entropy gas brought to the cluster by an infalling group. Other plausible sources of X-ray surface brightness fluctuations are discussed, including turbulence, metal abundance variations and unresolved sources. Despite a variety of possible origins for density fluctuations, the gas in the Coma cluster core is remarkably homogeneous on scales from ~500 to ~30kpc. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS.

## Focal aberrations of large-aperture HOPG von-Hàmos x-ray spectrometers

Journal of Instrumentation 7 (2012)

U Zastrau, H Marschner, O Wehrhan, E Förster, HJ Lee, CRD Brown, G Gregori, T Döppner, SH Glenzer, S Toleikis

Focal aberrations of large-aperture highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) crystals in von-Hàmos geometry are investigated by experimental and computational methods. A mosaic HOPG crystal film of 100 μm thickness diffracts 8 keV x-rays. This thickness is smaller than the absorption depth of the symmetric 004-reflection, which amounts to 257 μm. Cylindrically bent crystals with 110mm radius of curvature and up to 100 mm collection width produce a X-shaped halo around the focus. This feature vanishes when the collection aperture is reduced, but axial spectral profiles show that the resolution is not affected. X-ray topography reveals significant inhomogeneous crystallite domains of 2±1mm diameter along the entire crystal. Rocking curves shift by about ±20arcmin between domains, while their full width at half-maximum varies between 30 and 50 arcmin. These inhomogeneities are not imprinted at the focal spot, since the monochromatically reflecting area of the crystal is large compared to inhomogeneities. Ray-tracing calculations using a Monte-Carlo-based algorithm developed for mosaic crystals reproduce the X-shaped halo in the focal plane, stemming from the mosaic defocussing in the non-dispersive direction in combination with large apertures. The best achievable resolution is found by analyzing a diversity of rocking curve widths, source sizes and crystal thicknesses for 8 keV x-rays to be ΔE/E ∼ 10. Finally a general analytic expression for the shape of the aberration is derived. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.

## Controlling fast-electron-beam divergence using two laser pulses

Physical Review Letters 109 (2012)

RHH Scott, SJ Rose, PA Norreys, K Markey, KL Lancaster, CM Brenner, IO Musgrave, APL Robinson, MM Notley, D Neely, C Beaucourt, JJ Santos, J-L Feugeas, P Nicolaï, G Malka, VT Tikhonchuk, H-P Schlenvoigt, SD Baton, CP Ridgers, RJ Gray, P McKenna, J Pasley, K Li, JR Davies

This Letter describes the first experimental demonstration of the guiding of a relativistic electron beam in a solid target using two colinear, relativistically intense, picosecond laser pulses. The first pulse creates a magnetic field that guides the higher-current, fast-electron beam generated by the second pulse. The effects of intensity ratio, delay, total energy, and intrinsic prepulse are examined. Thermal and Kα imaging show reduced emission size, increased peak emission, and increased total emission at delays of 4-6 ps, an intensity ratio of 10 1 (second:first) and a total energy of 186 J. In comparison to a single, high-contrast shot, the inferred fast-electron divergence is reduced by 2.7 times, while the fast-electron current density is increased by a factor of 1.8. The enhancements are reproduced with modeling and are shown to be due to the self-generation of magnetic fields. Such a scheme could be of considerable benefit to fast-ignition inertial fusion. © 2012 American Physical Society.

## Zero-Turbulence Manifold in a Toroidal Plasma

ArXiv (2012)

EG Highcock, AA Schekochihin, SC Cowley, M Barnes, FI Parra, CM Roach, W Dorland

Sheared toroidal flows can cause bifurcations to zero-turbulent-transport states in tokamak plasmas. The maximum temperature gradients that can be reached are limited by subcritical turbulence driven by the parallel velocity gradient. Here it is shown that q/\epsilon (magnetic field pitch/inverse aspect ratio) is a critical control parameter for sheared tokamak turbulence. By reducing q/\epsilon, far higher temperature gradients can be achieved without triggering turbulence, in some instances comparable to those found experimentally in transport barriers. The zero-turbulence manifold is mapped out, in the zero-magnetic-shear limit, over the parameter space (\gamma_E, q/\epsilon, R/L_T), where \gamma_E is the perpendicular flow shear and R/L_T is the normalised inverse temperature gradient scale. The extent to which it can be constructed from linear theory is discussed.