Coulomb explosion induced by intense ultrashort laser pulses in two-dimensional clusters

Journal Article · Wed Mar 15 04:00:00 EST 2006 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.73.0· OSTI ID:20786937

Mijoule, Vincent ^[1]; Lewis, Laurent J ^[2]; Meunier, Michel ^[1]

---

1. Departement de Genie Physique et Regroupement Quebecois sur les Materiaux de Pointe (RQMP), Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Case Postale 6079, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3A7 (Canada)
2. Departement de Physique et Regroupement Quebecois sur les Materiaux de Pointe (RQMP), Universite de Montreal, Case Postale 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3J7 (Canada)

The phenomenon of Coulomb explosion is studied through qualitative numerical simulations of clusters irradiated with intense ultrashort laser pulses. We introduce a semiquantum approach which allows us to model two different types of materials--akin to rare gases and dielectrics--and which is appropriate for both low- and high-energy domains, i.e., the thermodynamic regime and the Coulomb explosion regime. Through a detailed study of clusters submitted to laser pulses of various intensities, we demonstrate that Coulomb explosion is the process responsible for cluster explosion under femtosecond laser pulses. We examine the differences in the dynamics of explosion of rare-gas clusters as a function of the wavelength of the incident laser radiation. For dielectric clusters, our simulations reveal a fragmented explosion mechanism; the influence of the size of the cluster is also studied.

• OSTI ID: 20786937
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 73; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMIC CLUSTERS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
IRRADIATION
LASER RADIATION
LASERS
PULSES
RARE GASES
SIMULATION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS