LX13024 - Objects as diverse as proto-stars, dying-stars and black-holes eject powerful beams of matter (jets) that are believed to be shaped by magnetic fields. In this letter we show how their formation can be studied in the laboratory by coupling high-power lasers with magnetic fields. In the proposed experiments, an intense laser source irradiates a thin-foil generating a spherically expanding, million-degrees plasma. By imposing a strong magnetic field, this flow can be shaped into an elongated, drop-like bubble which generates a centimetre-long jet propagating at more than 300 km/s. We speculate that astrophysical jets may be similarly produced from stellar winds expanding in a magnetic field.
