Scientists at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) managed to obtain a cosmic jet – a proton beam moving at almost the speed of light – in laboratory conditions. This experiment, which enables plasma control, may form the basis of energy, medicine (radiotherapy) and space flight technologies. MIPT told socialbites.ca about this.
Space jets are powerful jets of plasma in which particles move at speeds close to the speed of light. They are formed as a result of complex processes that occur in the accretion disks around black holes and neutron stars. During the formation of the disk, energy is released that can launch matter and radiation into space. The interaction of the rotating material and magnetic fields creates a force that directs some of the material away from the center of the disk, creating a jet.
The scientists created a model of the jet using a laser setup in which powerful laser pulses lasting one picosecond were focused on the surface of a thin copper target 10 micrometers in diameter. As a result of irradiation of the target, a proton beam traveling at almost the speed of light was obtained. It became a laboratory model of a space jet.
Scientists have found that the proton beam is formed due to cyclotron instability – this process causes the emergence of currents that increase the magnetic field along the beam. As a result, the beam bends and narrows, accelerating the particles in one direction and splitting the plasma jet into many pieces.
“We managed to show theoretically and experimentally that the development of cyclotron instability by the generation of cyclotron radiation plays a key role in a number of processes in a plasma with a magnetic field: self-localization of the plasma in the form of solitons, transformation,” a professor from the Department of Theoretical Physics at MIPT Landau told socialbites.ca. : “Conversion of rotational motion of plasma into translational motion, acceleration of charged particles by cyclotron, separation of a plasma jet into individual plasma formations.”
According to scientists, understanding the processes occurring in space jets could lead to new discoveries in the field of astrophysics and help develop technologies based on plasma control. Such technologies could find applications in energy, medicine, for example radiotherapy, and even spaceflight.
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.