Particle-in-cell simulations of intense laser pulses coupling into plasma channels

Journal Article · Tue Dec 07 00:00:00 EST 2004 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1842579· OSTI ID:20655240

Dimitrov, D A; Bruhwiler, D L; Messmer, P ^[1]; Cary, J R ^[1]; Geddes, C; Leemans, W; Esarey, E ^[2]

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1. Tech-X Corporation, 5621 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite A, Boulder, Colorado 80303 (United States)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

The guiding of intense laser pulses in plasma channels is necessary to maximize the energy of electrons accelerated in a laser wakefield accelerator. A significant fraction of the energy in the laser pulse may be lost during and after coupling from vacuum into a channel. For example, imperfect coupling can lead to enhanced leakage of laser energy transversely through the channel walls. We present 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, using the VORPAL code, of an example problem. We present a numerical diagnostic, based on simultaneous FFT's in space and time, which enables quantitative measurements of forward and backward propagating pulse energy and its spectra. Future work will be directed toward VORPAL parameter studies designed to optimize the amount of laser energy that couples into a channel.

• OSTI ID: 20655240
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 737, Issue 1; Conference: 11. advanced accelerator concepts workshop, Stony Brook, NY (United States), 21-26 Jun 2004; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1842579; (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ACCELERATION
ELECTRON BEAMS
FOURIER TRANSFORMATION
LASERS
PLASMA
PLASMA HEATING
PLASMA SIMULATION
PULSES
SPACE-TIME
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS