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Many astrophysical phenomena involve the interaction of a shock wave with an inhomogeneous background medium. Using scaled experiments with inhomogeneous foam targets makes it possible to study relevant physics in the laboratory to better understand the mechanisms of shock compression and to benchmark astrophysical simulation codes. First experiments on Zebra at the Nevada Terawatt Facility (NTF) have demonstrated flyer acceleration to sufficiently high velocities (up to 5 km/s) and that laser shadowgraphy can image sound fronts in transparent targets. Based on this, we designed an optimized setup to improve the flyer parameters (higher speed and mass) to create shock waves in transparent media. Once x-ray backlighting with the Leopard laser at NTF is operational, we will switch to foam targets with parameters relevant for laboratory astrophysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were performed at the Nevada Terawatt Facility to investigate the plasma penetration across an externally applied magnetic field. In experiment, a short-pulse laser ablates a polyethylene laser target, producing a plasma which interacts with an external magnetic field. The mechanism which allows the plasma to penetrate the applied magnetic field in experiment will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]