Progress Toward the Study of Laboratory Scale, Astrophysically Relevant, Turbulent Plasmas

Recent results from an ongoing series of Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiments being conducted on the Omega Laser are described. The goal of these experiments is to study, in a controlled laboratory setting, the mixing that occurs at an unstable interface subjected to an acceleration history similar to the explosion phase of a core-collapse supernova. In a supernova, the Reynolds number characterizing this mixing is extremely large (Re > 10¹⁰) and is more than sufficient to produce a turbulent flow at the interface. In the laboratory experiment, by contrast, the spatial scales are much smaller, but are still sufficiently large (Re > 10⁵) to support a turbulent flow and therefore recreate the conditions relevant to the supernova problem. The data from these experiments will be used to validate astrophysical codes as well as to better understand the transition to turbulence in such high energy density systems. The experimental results to date using two-dimensional initial perturbations demonstrate a clear visual transition from a well-ordered perturbation structure consisting of only a few modes to one with considerable modal content. Analysis of these results, however, indicates that while a turbulent spectrum visually appears to be forming, the layer has not yet reached the asymptotic growth rate characteristic of a fully turbulent layer. Recent advances in both target fabrication and diagnostic techniques are discussed as well. These advances will allow for the study of well-controlled 3D perturbations, increasing our ability to recreate the conditions occurring in the supernova.     

Differentiation of tholeiitic Karroo magma at Birds River,South Africa

Strongly fractionated residua derived by partial crystallization of tholeiitic gabbroic magma were emplaced at shallow depth within sediments of the uppermost part of the Karroo succession. Field evidence suggests that these residua were tapped from a deeper intrusion during cauldron subsidence, but were subsequently engulfed by later intrusion of olivine gabbro on a much larger scale. Ferrogabbro and pegmatoids were produced by differentiation in place of the younger gabbro, but the older intrusion was already chemically evolved when emplacement occurred. The product, a quenched, porphyritic rock containing ferroaugite-ferrohedenbergite, fayalitic olivine and sodic plagioclase in a microcrystalline to glassy matrix, is chemically comparable with the coarse-grained, iron- and alkali-enriched facies of other well known differentiated bodies. Regular trends in the contents of Rb, Sr, Y, Zr and Nb correlate well with fractionation indices based on major-element chemistry.     

Geochemistry of contrasting siliceous magmatic suites in the Bushveld Complex: Genetic aspects and implications for tectonic discrimination diagrams

The intracratonic Bushveld igneous province that formed 2.1–1.9 Ga ago contains three contrasting suites of siliceous rocks that are demonstrably of magmatic origin. The oldest of these are the high-Mg (HMF) and low-Mg (LMF) felsites, which form interstratified flows in the Rooiberg Group. Bushveld granites intrude the Rooiberg Group and constitute the youngest component of the province.Well-defined interelement variation trends illustrate that the granites do not share the same petrogenetic history as the Rooiberg magmas. Nd isotope measurements indicate that the two eruptive suites probably formed under similar differentiation conditions but from parental magmas that were derived from compositionally different sources. On trace-element discrimination diagrams, the Bushveld granites and LMF are usually correctly assigned to a within-plate setting but, conversely, the HMF are generally misclassified as subduction-related eruptives. It is argued that the trace-element signatures of the granites and felsites do not identify their tectonic setting per se, but rather point to the melting and crystallization histories of the source regions from which their parent magmas were extracted. As such, tectonic discrimination diagrams may provide valuable pointers to processes that have affected igneous source materials in much earlier magmatic cycles.     

Sediment transport in distributary channels and its export to the pro-deltaic environment in a tidally dominated delta: Fly River, Papua New Guinea

Current metre deployments, suspended sediment measurements and surface sediment samples were collected from three locations within distributary channels of the tidally dominated Fly River delta in southern Papua New Guinea. Net bedload transport vectors and the occurrence of elongate tidal bars indicate that mutually evasive ebb- and flood-dominant transport zones occur in each of the distributary channels. Suspended sediment experiments at two locations show a phase relationship between tidal velocity and sediment concentration such that the net suspended sediment flux is directed seaward. Processes that control the export of fluid muds with concentrations up to 10 g l⁻¹ from the distributary channels across the delta front and onto the pro-delta are assessed in relation to the available data. Peak spring tidal current speeds (measured at 100 cm above the bed) drop off from around 100 cm s⁻¹ within the distributary channels to <50 cm s⁻¹ on the delta front. Gravity-driven, 2-m thick, fluid mud layers generated in the distributary channels are estimated to require at least 35 h to traverse the 20-km-wide, low-gradient (2×10⁻³ degrees) delta front. The velocities of such currents are well below those required for autosuspension. A 1-month time series of suspended sediment concentration and current velocity from the delta front indicates that tidal currents alone are unable to cause significant cross-delta mud transport. Wave-induced resuspension together with tides, storm surge and barotropic return-flow may play a role in maintaining the transport of fine sediment across the delta front, but insufficient data are available at present to make any reliable estimates.     

Astrophysically relevant radiation hydrodynamics experiment at the National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is capable of creating new and novel high-energy-density (HED) systems relevant to astrophysics. Specifically, a system could be created that studies the effects of a radiative shock on a hydrodynamically unstable interface. These dynamics would be relevant to the early evolution after a core-collapse supernova of a red supergiant star. Prior to NIF, no HED facility had enough energy to perform this kind of experiment. The experimental target will include a 340 ??m predominantly plastic ablator followed by a low-density SiO₂ foam. The interface will have a specific, machined pattern that will seed hydrodynamic instabilities. The growth of the instabilities in a radiation-dominated environment will be observed. This experiment requires a ??300?eV hohlraum drive and will be diagnosed using point projection pinhole radiography, which have both been recently demonstrated on NIF.     

Mass-Stripping Analysis of an Interstellar Cloud by a Supernova Shock

The interaction of supernova shocks and interstellar clouds is an important astrophysical phenomenon since it can result in stellar and planetary formation. Our experiments attempt to simulate this mass-loading as it occurs when a shock passes through interstellar clouds. We drive a strong shock using the Omega laser (∼5kJ)into a foam-filled cylinder with an embedded Al sphere(diameterD=120 μm) simulating an interstellar cloud. The density ratio between Al and foamis∼9. We have previously reported on the interaction between shock and cloud, the ensuing Kelvin-Helmholtz and Widnall instabilities, and the rapid stripping of all mass from the cloud. We now present a theory that explains the rapid mass-stripping. The theory combines (1) the integral momentum equations for a viscous boundary layer, (2) the equations for a potential flow past a sphere, (3) Spalding's law of the wall for turbulent boundary layers, and (4) the skin friction coefficient for a turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate. The theory gives as its final result the mass stripped from a sphere in a turbulent high Reynolds number flow, and it agrees very well with our experimental observations.