Magnetic field measurement with Thomson Scattering

Counter-streaming plasma has been featured in many experiments due to its prevalence in astronomy around supernova shocks, as well as in other lab plasma applications. These plasmas develop magnetic fields which are interesting due to their ability to accelerate particles as well as their roll in the formation of collisionless shocks.
These fields are normally measured by proton radiography, where the deflection of protons projected through the plasma is measured to infer the field strength of the whole plasma. Thomson scattering, however, gives information about the plasma at a small location, depicting the characteristics of an individual filament. We show measurements of magnetic field strength from the Thomson scattering spectrum, and asses the capabilities and limitations of the Thomson scattering spectrum.

Faculty Supervisor:

Wojciech Rozmus

Student:

Partner:

Stanford University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Alberta

Program: