Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:42:48.188Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Electron acceleration by an intense laser pulse inside a density profile induced by non-linear pulse evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2018

M. Pishdast ,
J. Yazdanpanah  and
S. A. Ghasemi
M. Pishdast
Affiliation:
Plasma and Nuclear Fusion Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
J. Yazdanpanah
Affiliation:
Plasma and Nuclear Fusion Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
S. A. Ghasemi*
Affiliation:
Plasma and Nuclear Fusion Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
*
Author for correspondence: Seyed Abolfazl Ghasemi, Plasma and Nuclear Fusion Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

By sophisticated application of particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate the ultimate role of non-linear pulse evolutions in accelerating electrons during the entrance of an intense laser pulse into a preformed density profile. As a key point in our discussions, the non-linear pulse evolutions are found to be very fast even at very low plasma densities, provided that the pulse length exceeds the local plasma wavelength. Therefore, these evolutions are sufficiently developed during the propagation of typical short density scale lengths occurred at high contrast ratios of the pulse, and lead to plasma heating via stochastic acceleration in multi-waves. Further analysis of simulation data at different physical parameters indicates that the rate of evolutions increases with the plasma density leading to higher plasma heating and overgrown energetic electrons. In the same way, shortening the density scale length results into increase in the evolution rate and, simultaneously, decrease in the interaction time. This behavior can describe the observed optimum value of pre-plasma scale length for the maximum electron heating.

Keywords

Density profileelectron accelerationnon-linear pulse evolutions
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 41 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andreev, NE, Pugachev, LP, Povarenitsyn, ME and Levashov, PR (2016) Electron acceleration at grazing incidence of a sub picosecond intense laser pulse onto a plane solid target. Laser and Particle Beams 34, 115–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudier, A, Patin, D and Lefebvre, E (2007) Stochastic heating in ultra high intensity laser-plasma interaction. Laser and Particle Beams 25, 169.Google Scholar
Bulanov, SV, Naumova, NM, Pegoraro, F and Sakai, J (1998) Particle injection into the wave acceleration phase due to nonlinear wake wave breaking. Physical Review E 58, R5257.Google Scholar
Chakhmachi, A, Khalilzadeh, E, Pishdast, M and Yazdanpanah, J (2017) Numerical study of the wave-break in the vacuum-plasma interface during the interaction of an intense laser pulse. AIP Advances 7, 085317.Google Scholar
Culfa, O, Tallents, GJ, Wagenaars, E, Ridgers, CP, Dance, RJ, Rossal, AK, Gray, RJ, Mckenna, P, Brown, CDR, James, SF, Hoarty, DJ, Booth, NA, Robinson, PL, Lancaster, KL, Pikuz, SA, Faenov, AY, Kampfer, T, Schulze, KS, Uschmann, I and Woolsey, NC (2014) Hot electron production in laser solid interactions with a controlled pre-pulse. Physics of Plasmas 21, 043106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Culfa, O, Tallents, GJ, Rossal, AK, Wagenaars, E, Ridgers, CP, Murphy, CD, Dance, RJ, Gray, RJ, Mckenna, P, Brown, CDRS, James, F, Hoarty, DJ, Booth, N, Robinson, APL, Lancaster, KL, Pikuz, SA, Faenov, AY, Kampfer, T, Schulze, KS, Uschmann, I and Woolsey, NC (2016) Plasma scale-length effects on electron energy spectra in high-irradiance laser plasmas. Physical Review E 93, 043201.Google Scholar
Culfa, O, Tallents, GJ, Korkmaz, ME, Rossal, AK, Wagenaars, E, Ridgers, CP, Murphy, CD, Booth, N, Carroll, DC, Wilson, LA, Lancaster, KL and Woolsey, NC (2017) Plasma scale length effects on protons generated in ultra-intense laser–plasmas. Laser and Particle Beams 35, 58–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Decker, CD, Mori, WB, Katsouleas, T and Hinkel, DE (1996) Spatial temporal theory of Raman forward scattering. Physics of Plasmas 3, 1360.Google Scholar
Esarey, EC, Schroeder, B and Leemans, WP (2009) Physics of laser-driven plasma-based electron accelerators. Reviews in Modern Physics 81, 1229.Google Scholar
Fang, Y, Xulei, G, Yang, S, Wenqing, W, Tongpu, Y, Feng, L, Chen, M, Jingquan, L, Xiaohui, Y, Zhengming, S and Zhang, J (2016) Different effects of laser contrast on proton emission from normal large foils and transverse-size-reduced targets. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 58, 075010, 7 pp.Google Scholar
Holkundkar, A and Gupta, NK (2008) Effect of initial plasma density on laser induced ion acceleration. Physics of Plasmas 15, 123104.Google Scholar
Kruer, WL (1988) The Physics of Laser Plasma Interactions. Redwood City: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Lefebvre, E and Bonnaud, G (1997) Nonlinear electron heating in ultrahigh-intensity-laser–plasma interaction. Physical Review E 55(1), 1011–1014.Google Scholar
Mackinnon, AJ, Borghesi, M, Hatchett, S, Key, MH, Patel, PK, Campbell, H, Schiavi, A, Snavely, R, Wilks, SC and Willi, O (2001) Effect of plasma scale length on multi-MeV proton production by intense laser pulses. Physical Review Letters 86(9), 1769(4).Google Scholar
Mendoca, JT (1983) Threshold for electron heating by two electromagnetic waves. Physical Review A 28, 3592.Google Scholar
Mori, WB and Decker, CD (1994) Raman forward scattering of short-pulse high intensity lasers. Physical Review Letters 72(10), 1482(4).Google Scholar
Ovchinnikov, VM, Schumachur, DW, Mcmahon, M, Chowdhury, EA, Chen, CD, Morace, A and Freeman, RR (2013) Effects of pre-plasma scale length and laser intensity on the divergence of laser-generated hot electrons. Physical Review Letters 110, 065007.Google Scholar
Paradkar, BS, Wei, MS, Yabuuchi, T, Steohen, RB, Haines, MG, Krasheninnikov, SI and Beg, FN (2011) Numerical modeling of fast electron generation in the presence of preformed plasma in laser-matter interaction at relativistic intensities. Physical Review E 83, 046401.Google Scholar
Pukhov, A, Sheng, ZM and Meyer-Ter-vehn, J (1999) Particle acceleration in relativistic laser channels. Physics of Plasmas 6, 2847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, APL, Arefiev, AV and Neely, D (2013) Generating super-ponder-motive electrons due to a non-wake-field Interaction between a laser pulse and a longitudinal electric field. Physical Review Letters 111, 065002.Google Scholar
Santala, MIK, Zepf, M, Watts, I, Beg, FN, Clark, E, Tatarakis, M, Krushelnick, K and Dangor, AE (2000) Effect of the plasma density scale length on the direction of fast electrons in relativistic laser-solid interactions. Physical Review Letters 84(7), 1459(4).Google Scholar
Sheng, ZM, Mima, K, Zhang, J and Meyer-Ter-vehn, J (2004) Efficient acceleration of electrons with counter-propagating intense laser pulses in vacuum and under-dense plasma. Physical Review E 69, 016407.Google Scholar
Stabrook, K and Kruer, WL (1983) Theory and simulation of Raman backward and forward scattering. Physics of Fluids 26(7), 1892–1903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stabrook, K, Kruer, WL and Lasinski, BF (1980) Heating by Raman backscatter and forward scatter. Physical Review Letters 45(17), 1399–1403.Google Scholar
Tzeng, KC, Mori, WB and Decker, CD (1996) Anomalous absorption and scattering of short-pulse high-intensity lasers in under-dense plasmas. Physical Review Letters 76, 3332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitham, GB (1974) Linear and Nonlinear Waves. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Willingale, L, Mangles, SPD, Nilson, PM, Clarke, RJ, Dangor, AE, Kaluza, MC, Karcch, S, Lancaster, KL, Mori, WB, Najmudin, Z, Schreibr, J, Thomas, AGR, Wei, MS and Krushelnick, K (2006) Collimated multi-meV ion beams from high-intensity laser interactions with under-dense plasma. Physical Review Letters 96, 245002.Google Scholar
Wu, D, Krasheninnikov, SI, Luan, SX and Yu, W (2017) Identifying the source of super-high energetic electrons in the presence of pre-plasma in laser–matter interaction at relativistic intensities. Nuclear Fusion 57, 016007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yabuuchi, T, Paradkar, BS, Wei, MS, King, JA, Beg, FN, Stephens, RB, Nakanii, N, Hatakeyama, M, Habara, H, Mima, K, Tanaka, KA and Larensen, JT (2010) Transport study of intense-laser-produced fast electrons in solid targets with a pre-plasma created by a long pulse laser. Physics of Plasmas 17, 060704.Google Scholar
Yazdanpanah, J and Anvary, A (2012) Time and space extended-particle in cell model for electromagnetic particle algorithms. Physics of Plasmas 19, 03310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yazdanpanah, J and Anvary, A (2014) Effects of initially energetic electrons on relativistic laser-driven electron plasma waves. Physics of Plasmas 21, 023101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar