Hall Effects and Diamagnetic Cavity Collapse during a Laser Plasma Cloud Expansion into a Vacuum Magnetic Field

Abstract

This paper describes the results of a laboratory experiment on the sub-Alfvén expansion of a quasi-spherical laser plasma cloud into a vacuum magnetic field in the regime of nonmagnetized ions. The role of Hall fields and currents in the anomalously fast dynamics of the magnetic field during the collapse phase of a diamagnetic cavity is considered. Detailed spatial measurements of the azimuthal Hall fields configuration are demonstrated and their relationship to diamagnetic cavity collapse is determined. As a result of the experiment, data were obtained confirming the hypothesis about the transfer of the main magnetic field by the movement of electrons associated with Hall currents.