Filamentation instability in two counter-streaming laser plasmas

The filamentation instability was observed in the interaction of two counter-streaming laser ablated plasma flows, which were supersonic, collisionless, and also closely relevant to astrophysical conditions. The plasma flows were created by irradiating a pair of oppositely standing plastic (CH) foils with 1ns-pulsed laser beams of total energy of 1.7 kJ in two laser spots. With characteristics diagnosed in experiments, the calculated features of Weibel-type filaments are in good agreement with measurements.