Observation of sub-relativistic collisionless shock generation and breakout dynamics

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 3770 - 8
• Main Authors: Bai, Yafeng, Zhang, Dongdong, Zeng, Yushan, Mao, Jiakang, Song, Liwei, Tian, Ye, Li, Ruxin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28.04.2025; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/766/1960/1134; 639/766/1960/1135; Astrophysics; Charged particles; Energy; Experiments; Femtosecond pulsed lasers; Femtosecond pulses; Gamma ray bursts; Gamma rays; Humanities and Social Sciences; Interstellar matter; Laboratories; Lasers; Magnetic fields; multidisciplinary; Relativistic effects; Relativistic velocity; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Shock waves; Supernovae; Velocity; Weibel instability
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58867-3

Relativistic collisionless shocks, which are ubiquitous in the cosmos, play a significant role in various astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts, PeVatrons, and supernova shock breakouts. Here we present a demonstration using a compact femtosecond laser system to generate sub-relativistic collisionless shocks (0.03 c ) under astrophysically relevant conditions. We attribute the shock formation to a rapidly growing Weibel instability in a precisely tuning low-density preplasma environment, which resembles the interstellar media near an astrophysical central engine. Owing to this Weibel instability, a 5000 Tesla magnetic field is developed within 2.7 ps, leading to the collisionless shock formation and subsequent breakout at the preplasma boundaries. This platform enables direct investigation of astrophysics related to relativistic collisionless shocks. The achieved parameters bridge the gap between astrophysical observations and controlled laboratory experiments, offering unprecedented opportunities to validate cosmic shock models. Collisionless shock waves at relativistic velocities are ubiquitous in the universe and lead to the generation of energetic ions and radiation. Here, the authors demonstrate the generation of subrelativistic collisionless shock of astrophysical relevance in the laboratory, by means of table-top femtosecond laser pulses focused onto solid targets.