Ultra-intense laser pulses in near-critical underdense plasmas - radiation reaction and energy partitioning
Journal article, 2017

Although, for current laser pulse energies, the weakly nonlinear regime of laser wakefield acceleration is known to be the optimal for reaching the highest possible electron energies, the capabilities of upcoming large laser systems will provide the possibility of running highly nonlinear regimes of laser pulse propagation in underdense or near-critical plasmas. Using an extended particle-in-cell (PIC) model that takes into account all the relevant physics, we show that such regimes can be implemented with external guiding for a relatively long distance of propagation and allow for the stable transformation of laser energy into other types of energy, including the kinetic energy of a large number of high energy electrons and their incoherent emission of photons. This is despite the fact that the high intensity of the laser pulse triggers a number of new mechanisms of energy depletion, which we investigate systematically.

plasma simulation

plasma interactions

plasma nonlinear phenomena

Author

Erik Karl Wallstén Wallin

Chalmers, Physics, Theoretical Physics

Arkady Gonoskov

Chalmers, Physics, Theoretical Physics

Christopher Harvey

Chalmers, Physics, Theoretical Physics

O. Lundh

Lund University

Mattias Marklund

Chalmers, Physics, Theoretical Physics

Journal of Plasma Physics

0022-3778 (ISSN) 1469-7807 (eISSN)

Vol. 83 2 905830208

Subject Categories

Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics

DOI

10.1017/s0022377817000320

More information

Latest update

7/20/2018