Plasma dynamics near critical density inferred from direct measurements of laser hole boring

Gong, Chao; Tochitsky, Sergei Ya.; Fiuza, Frederico; Pigeon, Jeremy J.; Joshi, Chan

doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.93.061202

Title: Plasma dynamics near critical density inferred from direct measurements of laser hole boring

Journal Article · Sat Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Physical Review E

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.061202· OSTI ID:1389949

Gong, Chao ^[1]; Tochitsky, Sergei Ya. ^[1]; Fiuza, Frederico ^[2]; Pigeon, Jeremy J. ^[1]; Joshi, Chan ^[1]

Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Electrical Engineering Dept.
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Here, we use multiframe picosecond optical interferometry to make direct measurements of the hole boring velocity, vHB, of the density cavity pushed forward by a train of CO₂ laser pulses in a near critical density helium plasma. As the pulse train intensity rises, the increasing radiation pressure of each pulse pushes the density cavity forward and the plasma electrons are strongly heated. After the peak laser intensity, the plasma pressure exerted by the heated electrons strongly impedes the hole boring process and the vHB falls rapidly as the laser pulse intensity falls at the back of the laser pulse train. We present a heuristic theory that allows the estimation of the plasma electron temperature from the measurements of the hole boring velocity. Furthermore, the measured values of v_HB, and the estimated values of the heated electron temperature as a function of laser intensity are in reasonable agreement with those obtained from two-dimensional numerical simulations.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344; NA0002950; SC0010064

OSTI ID:: 1389949

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1259336; OSTI ID: 1364530

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-737704; PLEEE8

Journal Information:: Physical Review E, Vol. 93, Issue 6; ISSN 2470-0045

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 5 works

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Cited By (2)

Particle-in-cell simulations of density peak formation and ion heating from short pulse laser-driven ponderomotive steepening Smith, Joseph R.; Orban, Chris; Ngirmang, Gregory K. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 26, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5108811	journal	December 2019
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