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Title: Step density model of laser sustained ion channel and Coulomb explosion

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907654· OSTI ID:22408134
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016 (India)
  2. Department of Physics, Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad 201003, Uttar Pradesh (India)

An analytical model of laser sustained ion channel in plasma is developed, assuming electron density to be zero in the inner region and constant outside. The radius of the channel is such that the ponderomotive force on electrons at the channel boundary is balanced by the channel space charge force. The laser is TM eigen mode of the system with Bessel function profile in the interior and modified Bessel function outside. The channel radius increases with laser intensity and the ratio of laser frequency to plasma frequency. Ion Coulomb explosion of the channel, on longer time scale, produces ion energy distribution, an increasing function of energy with a sharp cutoff equal to electron ponderomotive energy at the channel boundary. At peak laser intensity ≈2×10{sup 19}W/cm{sup 2} at 1 μm wavelength and spot size of 8 μm, the cutoff ion energy in a plasma of density ∼10{sup 19}cm{sup −3} is ∼0.73 MeV.

OSTI ID:
22408134
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English