Princeton Center for Heliophysics Seminar

The study of the many processes that take place within astrophysical systems e.g., magnetic reconnection, shocks, and turbulence is made very challenging by the large separation distances between us and these systems. This is especially true for extreme astrophysical environments including those surrounding pulsars and black holes where measurements are limited to the radiation emitted from these distant environments. As a result, a significant burden is placed on simulations and theory to provide an understanding of these systems. In this talk, I propose that some of this burden can potentially be lessened through laboratory experiments, specifically those performed at ultra-intense laser facilities including ZEUS at the University of Michigan and the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) in Europe. Laser-plasma experiments have already provided us with a greater understanding of relatively low energy systems including the Sun and supernova remnants, however work that can be of benefit to the extreme astrophysics community is quite limited. In this talk I will discuss an experiment we conducted that is relevant to extreme astrophysics, as well as theoretical work I have performed to understand what may be possible on next-generation laser facilities.