A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis

Details A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis

2003-05-09

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0305146v1

Astrophys.J. 604 (2004) 213-221

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

7 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. For additional information, including simulation animations and th

Scientific paper

10.1086/381792

We present a design for high energy density laboratory experiments studying the interaction of hypersonic shocks with a large number of inhomogeneities. These ``clumpy'' flows are relevant to a wide variety of astrophysical environments including the evolution of molecular clouds, outflows from young stars, Planetary Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei. The experiment consists of a strong shock (driven by a pulsed power machine or a high intensity laser) impinging on a region of randomly placed plastic rods. We discuss the goals of the specific design and how they are met by specific choices of target components. An adaptive mesh refinement hydrodynamic code is used to analyze the design and establish a predictive baseline for the experiments. The simulations confirm the effectiveness of the design in terms of articulating the differences between shocks propagating through smooth and clumpy environments. In particular, we find significant differences between the shock propagation speeds in a clumpy medium compared to a smooth one with the same average density. The simulation results are of general interest for foams in both inertial confinement fusion and laboratory astrophysics studies. Our results highlight the danger of using average properties of inhomogeneous astrophysical environments when comparing timescales for critical processes such as shock crossing and gravitational collapse times.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Laboratory Investigation of Supersonic Clumpy Flows: Experimental Design and Theoretical Analysis will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-719391