- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Research

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Plasma flow generation and particle acceleration from expanding magnetic bubbles

Yang Zhang1,2,*, Brandon K. Russell1, Geoffrey Pomraning1, Lan Gao3, Xiaocan Li4, Adam Stanier4, William Daughton4, Chuanfei Dong5,6, Liang Wang5 et al.

Peiyun Shi3, Kian Orr7, and Hantao Ji1,3

  • *Contact author: yz0172@princeton.edu
PDF

Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023317 – Published 18 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yw76-d6kh

Abstract

Impulsive plasma dynamics in the laboratory are often driven by rising electric currents, yet their quantitative plasma response has not been well established. By means of fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations and laser-driven capacitor-coil experiments, we show that a rising current expels plasma, forming an expanding magnetic bubble and accelerating particles. The expansion front velocity scales with the Alfvén speed determined by the magnetic field at its inner edge and the plasma density at its outer edge. This mechanism establishes impulsive current drive as a fundamental way that generates plasma flows and accelerates particles in laboratory plasmas, with potential relevance to astrophysics.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (58)

  1. S. Fujioka, Z. Zhang, K. Ishihara, K. Shigemori, Y. Hironaka, T. Johzaki, A. Sunahara, N. Yamamoto, H. Nakashima, T. Watanabe, et al., Kilotesla magnetic field due to a capacitor-coil target driven by high power laser, Sci. Rep. 3, 1170 (2013).
  2. L. Gao, H. Ji, G. Fiksel, W. Fox, M. Evans, and N. Alfonso, Ultrafast proton radiography of the magnetic fields generated by a laser-driven coil current, Phys. Plasmas 23, 043106 (2016).
  3. M. Haines, A review of the dense Z-pinch, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 53, 093001 (2011).
  4. Y. Zhang, P. Wongwaitayakornkul, and P. M. Bellan, Magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability in an experiment simulating a solar loop, Astrophys. J. Lett. 889, L32 (2020).
  5. J. Schwarz, B. Hutsel, T. Awe, B. Bauer, J. Banasek, E. Breden, J. Chen, M. Cuneo, K. Chandler, K. DeZetter, et al., Mykonos: A pulsed power driver for science and innovation, High Energy Density Phys. 53, 101144 (2024).
  6. E. Lavine, D. Lund, E. Freeman, W. Potter, C. Seyler, and B. Kusse, An experimental platform for investigating astrophysically relevant magnetized plasma jets on the COBRA facility, Phys. Plasmas 32, 012902 (2025).
  7. C. Forest, K. Flanagan, M. Brookhart, M. Clark, C. Cooper, V. Désangles, J. Egedal, D. Endrizzi, I. Khalzov, H. Li, et al., The Wisconsin plasma astrophysics laboratory, J. Plasma Phys. 81, 345810501 (2015).
  8. D. B. Schaeffer, W. Fox, D. Haberberger, G. Fiksel, A. Bhattacharjee, D. H. Barnak, S. X. Hu, and K. Germaschewski, Generation and evolution of high-Mach-number laser-driven magnetized collisionless shocks in the laboratory, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 025001 (2017).
  9. S. You, J. von der Linden, E. S. Lavine, E. G. Carroll, A. Card, M. Quinley, and M. Azuara-Rosales, The Mochi LabJet experiment for measurements of canonical helicity injection in a laboratory astrophysical jet, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 236, 29 (2018).
  10. P. Bellan, Experiments relevant to astrophysical jets, J. Plasma Phys. 84, 755840501 (2018).
  11. B. Seo, M. Avila, T. Clevenger, C. Castleberry, C. Lamb, X. Ma, K. Nykyri, A. Barjatya, and D.-W. Kim, A new single flux rope experiment for studying the dynamics of a magnetized plasma jet, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 96, 053505 (2025).
  12. M. Yamada, H. Ji, S. Hsu, T. Carter, R. Kulsrud, N. Bretz, F. Jobes, Y. Ono, and F. Perkins, Study of driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma, Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997).
  13. M. R. Brown, Experimental studies of magnetic reconnection, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1717 (1999).
  14. J. Egedal, W. Fox, N. Katz, M. Porkolab, K. Reim, and E. Zhang, Laboratory observations of spontaneous magnetic reconnection, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 015003 (2007).
  15. P. Shi, P. Srivastav, M. H. Barbhuiya, P. A. Cassak, E. E. Scime, and M. Swisdak, Laboratory observations of electron heating and non-Maxwellian distributions at the kinetic scale during electron-only magnetic reconnection, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 025002 (2022).
  16. Y. Zhang, S. Pree, and P. M. Bellan, Generation of laboratory nanoflares from multiple braided plasma loops, Nat. Astron. 7, 655 (2023).
  17. H. Ji, L. Gao, G. Pomraning, K. Sakai, F. Guo, X. Li, A. Stanier, A. Milder, R. Follett, G. Fiksel, et al., Study of magnetic reconnection at low-β using laser-powered capacitor coils, Phys. Plasmas 31, 102112 (2024).
  18. J. Y. Park, Y. D. Yoon, and Y. S. Hwang, Kinetic turbulence drives MHD equilibrium change via 3D reconnection, Nature (London) 644, 59 (2025).
  19. K. J. Bowers, B. J. Albright, L. Yin, B. Bergen, and T. J. Kwan, Ultrahigh performance three-dimensional electromagnetic relativistic kinetic plasma simulation, Phys. Plasmas 15, 055703 (2008).
  20. A. Chien, L. Gao, H. Ji, X. Yuan, E. G. Blackman, H. Chen, P. C. Efthimion, G. Fiksel, D. H. Froula, K. W. Hill, et al., Study of a magnetically driven reconnection platform using ultrafast proton radiography, Phys. Plasmas 26, 062113 (2019).
  21. L. Gao, Y. Zhang, H. Ji, B. K. Russell, G. Pomraning, J. Griff-McMahon, S. Klein, C. Kuranz, and M. Wei, Record magnetic field generation by short-pulse laser-driven capacitor-coil targets, Appl. Phys. Lett. 127, 094101 (2025).
  22. Y. Zhang, R. Omura, R. Akematsu, K. F. F. Law, B. K. Russell, G. Pomraning, K. Orr, K. Kimura, M. F. Syahbana, Y. Karaki, et al., Time-resolved interferometric measurements of plasma density evolution in laser-driven capacitor-coil targets, Appl. Phys. Lett. 128, 234102 (2026).
  23. F. C. Jones and D. C. Ellison, The plasma physics of shock acceleration, Space Sci. Rev. 58, 259 (1991).
  24. F. Guo, O. French, Q. Zhang, X. Li, and J. Seo, Particle injection problem in magnetic reconnection and turbulence, Space Sci Rev. 221, 103 (2025).
  25. H. Daido, F. Miki, K. Mima, M. Fujita, K. Sawai, H. Fujita, Y. Kitagawa, S. Nakai, and C. Yamanaka, Generation of a strong magnetic field by an intense CO2 laser pulse, Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 846 (1986).
  26. H. Morita and S. Fujioka, Generation, measurement, and modeling of strong magnetic fields generated by laser-driven micro coils, Rev. Mod. Plasma Phys. 7, 13 (2023).
  27. D. B. Schaeffer, A. F. A. Bott, M. Borghesi, K. A. Flippo, W. Fox, J. Fuchs, C. Li, F. H. Séguin, H.-S. Park, P. Tzeferacos, and L. Willingale, Proton imaging of high-energy-density laboratory plasmas, Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 045007 (2023).
  28. PlasmaPy Community, “PlasmaPy (2024.7.0),” Zenodo, 2024, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12788848.
  29. Y. Zhang, L. Gao, H. Ji, B. K. Russell, G. Pomraning, J. Griff-McMahon, S. R. Klein, C. C. Kuranz, and M. Wei, Diagnosing electric and magnetic fields in laser-driven coil targets, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 67, 085039 (2025).
  30. A. Chien, L. Gao, S. Zhang, H. Ji, E. G. Blackman, W. Daughton, A. Stanier, A. Le, F. Guo, R. Follett, et al., Non-thermal electron acceleration from magnetically driven reconnection in a laboratory plasma, Nat. Phys. 19, 254 (2023).
  31. P. Bradford, M. Read, M. Ehret, L. Antonelli, M. Khan, N. Booth, K. Glize, D. Carroll, R. Clarke, R. Heathcote, et al., Proton deflectometry of a capacitor coil target along two axes, High Power Laser Sci. Eng. 8, e11 (2020).
  32. P. Bradford, A. Dearling, M. Ehret, L. Antonelli, N. Booth, D. Carroll, R. Clarke, K. Glize, R. Heathcote, M. Khan, et al., Measuring magnetic fields in laser-driven coils with dual-axis proton deflectometry, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 63, 084008 (2021).
  33. A. Ciardi, S. V. Lebedev, A. Frank, E. G. Blackman, J. P. Chittenden, C. Jennings, D. J. Ampleford, S. Bland, S. C. Bott, J. Rapley, et al., The evolution of magnetic tower jets in the laboratory, Phys. Plasmas 14, 056501 (2007).
  34. M. A. Haw, P. Wongwaitayakornkul, H. Li, and P. M. Bellan, Reverse current model for coronal mass ejection cavity formation, Astrophys. J. Lett. 862, L15 (2018).
  35. N. Kugland, D. Ryutov, P. Chang, R. Drake, G. Fiksel, D. Froula, S. Glenzer, G. Gregori, M. Grosskopf, M. Koenig, et al., Self-organized electromagnetic field structures in laser-produced counter-streaming plasmas, Nat. Phys. 8, 809 (2012).
  36. C. Huntington, F. Fiuza, J. Ross, A. Zylstra, R. Drake, D. Froula, G. Gregori, N. Kugland, C. Kuranz, M. Levy, et al., Observation of magnetic field generation via the Weibel instability in interpenetrating plasma flows, Nat. Phys. 11, 173 (2015).
  37. D. Schaeffer, F. Cruz, R. Dorst, F. Cruz, P. Heuer, C. Constantin, P. Pribyl, C. Niemann, L. Silva, and A. Bhattacharjee, Laser-driven, ion-scale magnetospheres in laboratory plasmas. I. Experimental platform and first results, Phys. Plasmas 29, 042901 (2022).
  38. D. Yuan, Z. Lei, H. Wei, Z. Zhang, J. Zhong, Y. Li, Y. Ping, Y. Zhang, Y. Li, F. Wang, et al., Electron stochastic acceleration in laboratory-produced kinetic turbulent plasmas, Nat. Commun. 15, 5897 (2024).
  39. D. Haberberger, S. Tochitsky, F. Fiuza, C. Gong, R. A. Fonseca, L. O. Silva, W. B. Mori, and C. Joshi, Collisionless shocks in laser-produced plasma generate monoenergetic high-energy proton beams, Nat. Phys. 8, 95 (2012).
  40. J. Meinecke, H. Doyle, F. Miniati, A. R. Bell, R. Bingham, R. Crowston, R. Drake, M. Fatenejad, M. Koenig, Y. Kuramitsu, et al., Turbulent amplification of magnetic fields in laboratory laser-produced shock waves, Nat. Phys. 10, 520 (2014).
  41. F. Fiuza, G. Swadling, A. Grassi, H. Rinderknecht, D. Higginson, D. Ryutov, C. Bruulsema, R. Drake, S. Funk, S. Glenzer, et al., Electron acceleration in laboratory-produced turbulent collisionless shocks, Nat. Phys. 16, 916 (2020).
  42. W. Yao, A. Fazzini, S. Chen, K. Burdonov, P. Antici, J. Béard, S. Bolaños, A. Ciardi, R. Diab, E. Filippov, et al., Laboratory evidence for proton energization by collisionless shock surfing, Nat. Phys. 17, 1177 (2021).
  43. Y. Bai, D. Zhang, Y. Zeng, J. Mao, L. Song, Y. Tian, and R. Li, Observation of sub-relativistic collisionless shock generation and breakout dynamics, Nat. Commun. 16, 3770 (2025).
  44. H. Ji, J. Yoo, W. Fox, M. Yamada, M. Argall, J. Egedal, Y.-H. Liu, R. Wilder, S. Eriksson, W. Daughton, et al., Laboratory study of collisionless magnetic reconnection, Space Sci. Rev. 219, 76 (2023).
  45. H. Alfvén, Electric currents in cosmic plasmas, Rev. Geophys. 15, 271 (1977).
  46. N. Raouafi, S. Patsourakos, E. Pariat, P. R. Young, A. C. Sterling, A. Savcheva, M. Shimojo, F. Moreno-Insertis, C. DeVore, V. Archontis, et al., Solar coronal jets: Observations, theory, and modeling, Space Sci. Rev. 201, 1 (2016).
  47. I. Sharykin, I. Zimovets, and I. Myshyakov, Flare energy release at the magnetic field polarity inversion line during the M1.2 solar flare of 2015 March 15. II. Investigation of photospheric electric current and magnetic field variations using HMI 135 s vector magnetograms, Astrophys. J. 893, 159 (2020).
  48. P. P. Kronberg, R. V. Lovelace, G. Lapenta, and S. A. Colgate, Measurement of the electric current in a kpc-scale jet, Astrophys. J. Lett. 741, L15 (2011).
  49. A. Bell, Turbulent amplification of magnetic field and diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic rays, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 353, 550 (2004).
  50. E. G. Zweibel, The microphysics and macrophysics of cosmic rays, Phys. Plasmas 20, 055501 (2013).
  51. A. M. Beloborodov, Untwisting magnetospheres of neutron stars, Astrophys. J. 703, 1044 (2009).
  52. J. Knight and P. Sturrock, Reverse current in solar flares, Astrophys. J. 218, 306 (1977).
  53. M. Battaglia and A. O. Benz, Observational evidence for return currents in solar flare loops, Astron. Astrophys. 487, 337 (2008).
  54. G. D. Holman, M. J. Aschwanden, H. Aurass, M. Battaglia, P. C. Grigis, E. P. Kontar, W. Liu, P. Saint-Hilaire, and V. V. Zharkova, Implications of X-ray observations for electron acceleration and propagation in solar flares, Space Sci. Rev. 159, 107 (2011).
  55. K. Schure, A. Bell, L. O’C Drury, and A. Bykov, Diffusive shock acceleration and magnetic field amplification, Space Sci. Rev. 173, 491 (2012).
  56. D. Lynden-Bell, Magnetic collimation by accretion discs of quasars and stars, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 279, 389 (1996).
  57. M. Nakamura, H. Li, and S. Li, Structure of magnetic tower jets in stratified atmospheres, Astrophys. J. 652, 1059 (2006).
  58. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/yw76-d6kh for more details.

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023317– Published 18 June, 2026
  • Received 25 November 2025
  • Accepted 19 May 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation