Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01ww72bb695
 Title: Magnetic Field Generation and Stability in High-Energy Density Plasmas Authors: Carruth, Peter Advisors: Bhattacharjee, Amitava Contributors: Staggs, Suzanne Department: Physics Class Year: 2014 Abstract: The generation of magnetic fields in plasmas, either astrophysical or in laser experiments, is not well understood. One proposed mechanism is the Biermann battery effect, which goes with $$\nabla$$n$$_{e}$$ $$\times$$ $$\nabla$$p$$_{e}$$ and is derived from a general form of Ohm's law. This effect is derived from fluid mechanics approximations of plasmas, and has not been determined from first principles kinematics. In this thesis, we perform a particle-in-cell simulation of plasma particles and computationally examine this effect. We find that this effect does contribute to magnetic field. We further find that the scalar pressure approximation does not fully cover the magnetic field generation after early simulation times, and by replacing the pressure with the pressure tensor achieve significantly better agreement. This thesis provides one of the first analyses of this effect from kinematics. Extent: 45 pages URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01ww72bb695 Type of Material: Princeton University Senior Theses Language: en_US Appears in Collections: Physics, 1936-2017