Design of experiments characterising heat conduction in magnetised, weakly collisional plasma

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Vincent, T. A., Ariyathilaka, P., Creaser, L., Danson, C., Lamb, D., Meinecke, J., Palmer, C. A. J., Pitt, S., Poole, H., Spindloe, C., Thomas, P., Tubman, E., Wilson, L., Garbett, W. J., Gregori, G., Tzeferacos, P., Hodge, T., Bott, A. F. A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Vincent, T. A.
Ariyathilaka, P.
Creaser, L.
Danson, C.
Lamb, D.
Meinecke, J.
Palmer, C. A. J.
Pitt, S.
Poole, H.
Spindloe, C.
Thomas, P.
Tubman, E.
Wilson, L.
Garbett, W. J.
Gregori, G.
Tzeferacos, P.
Hodge, T.
Bott, A. F. A.
author_facet Vincent, T. A.
Ariyathilaka, P.
Creaser, L.
Danson, C.
Lamb, D.
Meinecke, J.
Palmer, C. A. J.
Pitt, S.
Poole, H.
Spindloe, C.
Thomas, P.
Tubman, E.
Wilson, L.
Garbett, W. J.
Gregori, G.
Tzeferacos, P.
Hodge, T.
Bott, A. F. A.
contents Heat conduction in weakly collisional, magnetised plasma is challenging to model accurately due to multifaceted physics governing heat-carrying electrons, including microinstabilities that scatter electrons and modify heat transport. Capturing these effects requires multidimensional kinetic theory simulations, which are computationally expensive. Experimental constraints overcome this issue, resulting in improved understanding of thermal transport in systems such as the intra-cluster medium of galaxy clusters, and the hot-spot in inertial confinement fusion. In this paper, we present a new experimental platform that produces a weakly collisional high-\b{eta} plasma expected to be susceptible to the whistler heat-flux instability. This platform, to be fielded on the Orion laser, enables characterisation of whistler-regulated thermal conductivity. The platform design is assessed using radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations with the code FLASH. Simulations using three thermal conduction models predict conductivity suppression by over an order of magnitude relative to the Spitzer value at whistler saturation, demonstrating the efficacy of the platform.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_10041
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Design of experiments characterising heat conduction in magnetised, weakly collisional plasma
Vincent, T. A.
Ariyathilaka, P.
Creaser, L.
Danson, C.
Lamb, D.
Meinecke, J.
Palmer, C. A. J.
Pitt, S.
Poole, H.
Spindloe, C.
Thomas, P.
Tubman, E.
Wilson, L.
Garbett, W. J.
Gregori, G.
Tzeferacos, P.
Hodge, T.
Bott, A. F. A.
Plasma Physics
Heat conduction in weakly collisional, magnetised plasma is challenging to model accurately due to multifaceted physics governing heat-carrying electrons, including microinstabilities that scatter electrons and modify heat transport. Capturing these effects requires multidimensional kinetic theory simulations, which are computationally expensive. Experimental constraints overcome this issue, resulting in improved understanding of thermal transport in systems such as the intra-cluster medium of galaxy clusters, and the hot-spot in inertial confinement fusion. In this paper, we present a new experimental platform that produces a weakly collisional high-\b{eta} plasma expected to be susceptible to the whistler heat-flux instability. This platform, to be fielded on the Orion laser, enables characterisation of whistler-regulated thermal conductivity. The platform design is assessed using radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations with the code FLASH. Simulations using three thermal conduction models predict conductivity suppression by over an order of magnitude relative to the Spitzer value at whistler saturation, demonstrating the efficacy of the platform.
title Design of experiments characterising heat conduction in magnetised, weakly collisional plasma
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10041