Temporally and spatially resolved measurements of multi-megagauss magnetic fields in high intensity laser-produced plasmas

Journal Article · Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2008 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3035909· OSTI ID:21259726

Gopal, A; Tatarakis, M ^[1]; Beg, F N; Wei, M S ^[1]; Clark, E L ^[2]; Dangor, A E ^[1]; Evans, R G ^[1]; Norreys, P A ^[3]; Zepf, M ^[4]; Krushelnick, K ^[1]

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1. Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
2. Technological Educational Institute, 73100 Chania, Crete (Greece)
3. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
4. Dept. of Physics, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)

We report spatially and temporally resolved measurements of self-generated multi-megagauss magnetic fields produced during ultrahigh intensity laser plasma interactions. Spatially resolved measurements of the magnetic fields show an asymmetry in the distribution of field with respect to the angle of laser incidence. Temporally resolved measurements of the self-generated third harmonic suggest that the strength of the magnetic field is proportional to the square root of laser intensity (i.e., the laser B-field) during the rise of the laser pulse. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations using a particle-in-cell code which also shows clear asymmetry of the field profile and similar magnetic field growth rates and scalings.

• OSTI ID: 21259726
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 15, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3035909; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; 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
ASYMMETRY
DISTRIBUTION
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PLASMA SIMULATION