A magnetic field with an edge
Monday, September 14, 2020 - 12:10
in Physics & Chemistry
A team of Indian and Japanese physicists have overturned the six-decade old notion that the giant magnetic field in a high intensity laser produced plasma evolves from the small, nanometre scale in the bulk plasma. They show that instead the field actually originates at macroscopic scales defined by the boundaries of the electron beam that is propagating in the plasma. The new mechanism seeks to alter our understanding of magnetic fields in astrophysical scenarios and laser fusion and may help in the design of the next generation high energy particle sources for imaging and therapies.