Investigation of jet formation from the blast wave of a locally heated laser-irradiated target

A possible mechanism responsible for the formation of jets observed near young stellar objects is thought to involve conically converging flows which are generated when the stellar wind encounters an inward facing shock at an oblique angle. While this mechanism of inertial collimation has been verified by simulations, it is not accessible to direct observations due to the small scales on which it operates. Until recently, laboratory experiments have only been able to reproduce the second part of the mechanism by directly creating a converging conical flow to produce a jet. In this contribution we present a conceptual numerical study proposing an new configuration to create jets that are able to reproduce both stages of the mechanism, including the inward facing reverse shock, from simple initial conditions. By selectively heating a small region inside a target, irradiated by a high-intensity laser pulse, a jet can be created inside the plasma behind the rear target surface. We present three dimensional simulations of the formation of the jet. We find jets with aspect ratios of over 15 and Mach numbers between 2.5 and 4.3. The influence of simulation parameters is investigated and the applicability of the jets to their astrophysical counterparts is discussed.