Hybrid simulation in support of laboratory astrophysics experiments at UNR

Summary form only given. Laboratory astrophysics experiments are of great interest for space and astrophysical plasmas. One approach is based on the idea of combining a strong magnetic field (up to 100 Tesla) created during a Z-pinch discharge with a plasma flow produced in the process of the interaction of a laser pulse with a solid target. We present hybrid simulations of the interaction of the plasma flow, which has a magnetic field frozen in it, with a spherical obstacle. With an appropriate set of initial conditions imposed on the flow, collisionless shocks can be created. We present simulations of the formation of supercritical collisionless shocks relevant to the experiment. Experimental results are discussed as well. In the second part of the talk, hybrid simulation results related to the development of global MHD instabilities in current-carrying plasma in the presence of non-ideal MHD effects are discussed. It is shown that inclusion of even a small Hall parameter into the model can change the direction of cascading of the wave spectra into the region of small wavelengths, where ion viscosity can play a dominant role in ion heating.