Plasma shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysical and laboratory settings, yet their structure and microphysics remain poorly understood, particularly in the weakly collisional regime. We report on modelling and experiments that probe laser-produced shocks across a wide range of collisionality. The results provide insights into the plasma dynamics, suprathermal ion populations and microinstabilities.Plasma shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysical and laboratory settings, yet their structure and microphysics remain poorly understood, particularly in the weakly collisional regime. We report on modelling and experiments that probe laser-produced shocks across a wide range of collisionality. The results provide insights into the plasma dynamics, suprathermal ion populations and microinstabilities.

shocks