Join the Department of Physics and Astronomy on Wednesday, September 11 at 2:30pm in White Hall G09 for a colloquium presented by Jena Meinecke (Gettysburg College). The title of the talk is, "Using the Largest Laser on Earth to Study the Origins of Magnetic Fields in the Universe." A reception will precede the colloquium at 2:00pm in White Hall 111.

Abstract

The universe is magnetized—from clusters to filaments to voids—indicating that magnetic fields are essential players in the dynamics of luminous matter. The origins of these fields, however, still remains a mystery. The standard model suggests that tiny primordial fields were generated from asymmetrical shockwaves due to misaligned density and temperature gradients. These tiny fields were then amplified by turbulence until reaching a turbulent dynamo. Observational data, however, is limited. Fortunately, due to the advent of high-powered lasers, scaled astrophysical environments can be replicated in the laboratory. A supernova parsecs in diameter can be scaled down to the size of a baseball in the lab. Experiments have been conducted at numerous facilities over the past decade. Using intermediate-sized lasers, seed magnetic fields have been created in laboratory replicas of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, and the amplification of such fields has been studied in laser-produced replicas of the Coma cluster merger event.  Generating turbulent dynamo though requires the largest laser on Earth—the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

We present experimental efforts using the NIF to generate laboratory replicas of galaxy-cluster turbulent plasmas where the generated magnetic energy reaches equipartition with kinetic energy. Self-generated magnetic fields reach maximum values of 3 megagauss, and the results indicate the first high-Prandtl number turbulent dynamo created by a laser-produced plasma on Earth. Our data additionally indicates a reduction of heat transport by two orders of magnitude or more, leading to large temperature variations on small spatial scales, consistent with observations of cluster plasmas.

Biography

I conduct experiments using the largest lasers in the world to understand the origins of magnetic fields. Our international collaboration is leading research into the origins of galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields using lasers such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Check out our latest work!

Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of Physics at Gettysburg College who is training students for laser-plasma experiments. Outside of teaching and research, I am a strong advocate for women in physics and equal opportunities.

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