The behavior of the electron plasma boundary in ultraintense laser–highly overdense plasma interaction

Journal Article · Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4903532· OSTI ID:22407930

Sánchez-Arriaga, G.; Sanz, J. ^[1]; Debayle, A. ^[2]; Lehmann, G. ^[3]

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1. Departamento de Física Aplicada, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Plaza de Cardenal Cisneros 3, 28040 Madrid (Spain)
2. CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon, France and LRC MESO, Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan-CMLA, 94235 Cachan (France)
3. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)

The structural stability of the laser/plasma interaction is discussed, for the case of a linearly polarized laser beam interacting with a solid at normal incidence. Using a semi-analytical cold fluid model, the dynamics of the electron plasma boundary (EPB), usually related to the high-order harmonic generation and laser absorption, are presented. While the well-known J × B plasma oscillations at two times the laser frequency are recovered by the model, several other periodic in time stable solutions exist for exactly the same value of the physical parameters. This novel behavior highlights the importance of the laser pulse history among other factors. Some important features, such as the synchronization between the incident laser and the EPB oscillation, depend on the solution under consideration. A description of the possible types of stable oscillations in a parametric plane involving plasma density and laser amplitude is presented. The semi-analytical model is compared with particle-in-cell and semi-Lagrangian Vlasov simulations. They show that, among all the stable solutions, the plasma preferentially evolves to a state with the EPB oscillating twice faster than the laser. The effect of the plasma temperature and the existence of a ramp in the ion density profile are also discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22407930
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 12; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AMPLITUDES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
HARMONIC GENERATION
ION TEMPERATURE
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
LASER RADIATION
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
OSCILLATIONS
PERIODICITY
PHOTON BEAMS
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA WAVES
PULSES
SYNCHRONIZATION