实验室天体物理学中的标度变换

SCALING LAW IN LABORATORY ASTROPHYSICS

采用当前最先进的激光装置 ,可以获得与天体物理过程中相同或相似的条件 ,因此实验室天体物理学已成为激光等离子体物理学家们深感兴趣的研究内容 ,也同时成为天体物理学家所关注的问题 .然而 ,激光等离子体为微米级的空间尺度和纳秒或更短的时间尺度 ,而天体物理的对象则为宇宙学的极大的时间与空间尺度 .文章讨论了在物理上和实际操作上将这两种表面上存在巨大差异的物理过程对应起来 ,从而为利用激光等离子体研究天体物理过程提供了可能性 .

The use of state-of-the-art lasers makes it possible to produce, in the laboratory, the extreme conditions similar to those in astrophysical processes. The introduction of astrophysics-relevant ideas in laser-plasma interaction experiments is propitious to the understanding of astrophysical phenomena. However, the great difference between laser-produced plasma and astrophysical objects makes it awkward to model the latter by laser-plasma experiments. This article presents the physical reasons for modeling astrophysical plasmas by laser plasmas, connecting these two kinds of plasmas by scaling laws. This allows the creation of experimental test beds where observation and models can be quantitatively compared with laboratory data.