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Title: Evolution of laser induced electromagnetic postsolitons in multi-species plasma

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4935303· OSTI ID:22489836
; ; ;  [1];  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Institute of Physics of the ASCR, ELI-Beamlines Project, Na Slovance 2, Prague 18221 (Czech Republic)
  2. Advanced Photon Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215 (Japan)

The evolution of an s-polarized relativistic electromagnetic soliton created in multi-species plasma by an intense short laser pulse is investigated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The multi-component plasma consists of electrons and high-Z ions with a small addition of protons. By comparison, the evolution of postsoliton is very different from that in hydrogen plasma. A halo-like structure is found in spatial patterns of both electromagnetic fields and electron densities. The process of energy depletion is much slower due to the smaller charge-to-mass ratio of ions, which implies a better way of detecting postsolitons in simulations and experiments. In addition, it is found that the Coulomb explosion of high-Z ions in the postsoliton stage facilitates low-Z ion acceleration, and the maximum energy of low-Z ions increases with the component ratio of high-Z to low-Z ions.

OSTI ID:
22489836
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English