INTERFEROMETRIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE INTERACTION OF TWO PLASMAS IN A TRANSVERSE MAGNETIC FIELD

Presented are interferometric results of the interaction of two plasmas without and with a magnetic field. This study is based on the collision-free interaction of two millimetre-scale, counter-streaming plasmas — a proposed experimental simulation of shock production in a supernova remnant. This collision-free interaction is compared with a separate set of experiments with an external 7.5 T magnetic field applied. The interaction dynamics are inferred from spatially and temporally resolved electron density measurements, and the effect of the magnetic field on the plasma interaction is discussed.