Identification of Coupling Mechanisms between Ultraintense Laser Light and Dense Plasmas
Abstract
The interaction of intense laser beams with plasmas created on solid targets involves a rich nonlinear physics. Because such dense plasmas are reflective for laser light, the coupling with the incident beam occurs within a thin layer at the interface between plasma and vacuum. One of the main paradigms used to understand this coupling, known as the Brunel mechanism, is expected to be valid only for very steep plasma surfaces. Despite innumerable studies, its validity range remains uncertain, and the physics involved for smoother plasma-vacuum interfaces is unclear, especially for ultrahigh laser intensities. We report the first comprehensive experimental and numerical study of the laser-plasma coupling mechanisms as a function of the plasma interface steepness, in the relativistic interaction regime. Our results reveal a clear transition from the temporally periodic Brunel mechanism to a chaotic dynamic associated to stochastic heating. By revealing the key signatures of these two distinct regimes on experimental observables, we provide an important landmark for the interpretation of future experiments.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1502275
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1530190
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357; AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review. X
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 9 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Citation Formats
Chopineau, L., Leblanc, A., Blaclard, G., Denoeud, A., Thévenet, M., Vay, J-L., Bonnaud, G., Martin, Ph., Vincenti, H., and Quéré, F. Identification of Coupling Mechanisms between Ultraintense Laser Light and Dense Plasmas. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011050.
Chopineau, L., Leblanc, A., Blaclard, G., Denoeud, A., Thévenet, M., Vay, J-L., Bonnaud, G., Martin, Ph., Vincenti, H., & Quéré, F. Identification of Coupling Mechanisms between Ultraintense Laser Light and Dense Plasmas. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011050
Chopineau, L., Leblanc, A., Blaclard, G., Denoeud, A., Thévenet, M., Vay, J-L., Bonnaud, G., Martin, Ph., Vincenti, H., and Quéré, F. Thu .
"Identification of Coupling Mechanisms between Ultraintense Laser Light and Dense Plasmas". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011050.
@article{osti_1502275,
title = {Identification of Coupling Mechanisms between Ultraintense Laser Light and Dense Plasmas},
author = {Chopineau, L. and Leblanc, A. and Blaclard, G. and Denoeud, A. and Thévenet, M. and Vay, J-L. and Bonnaud, G. and Martin, Ph. and Vincenti, H. and Quéré, F.},
abstractNote = {The interaction of intense laser beams with plasmas created on solid targets involves a rich nonlinear physics. Because such dense plasmas are reflective for laser light, the coupling with the incident beam occurs within a thin layer at the interface between plasma and vacuum. One of the main paradigms used to understand this coupling, known as the Brunel mechanism, is expected to be valid only for very steep plasma surfaces. Despite innumerable studies, its validity range remains uncertain, and the physics involved for smoother plasma-vacuum interfaces is unclear, especially for ultrahigh laser intensities. We report the first comprehensive experimental and numerical study of the laser-plasma coupling mechanisms as a function of the plasma interface steepness, in the relativistic interaction regime. Our results reveal a clear transition from the temporally periodic Brunel mechanism to a chaotic dynamic associated to stochastic heating. By revealing the key signatures of these two distinct regimes on experimental observables, we provide an important landmark for the interpretation of future experiments.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011050},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 1,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Thu Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011050
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