Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers
This work studied the pre-plasma that builds up in interactions of focused high-power PW-class lasers with solid targets at the target surface facing the laser beam, and its impact on the global laser absorption efficiency as well as on the spectral cut-off energy of laser-generated proton beams. Ou...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Iuliana-Mariana Vladisavlevici Michael Ehret Evgeny Filippov Enrique García-García Cruz Mendez Marta Olivar Ruíz Óscar Varela Luca Volpe Jose Antonio Pérez-Hernández |
| author_facet | Iuliana-Mariana Vladisavlevici Michael Ehret Evgeny Filippov Enrique García-García Cruz Mendez Marta Olivar Ruíz Óscar Varela Luca Volpe Jose Antonio Pérez-Hernández |
| author_sort | Iuliana-Mariana Vladisavlevici |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work studied the pre-plasma that builds up in interactions of focused high-power PW-class lasers with solid targets at the target surface facing the laser beam, and its impact on the global laser absorption efficiency as well as on the spectral cut-off energy of laser-generated proton beams. Our practical heuristic estimates were derived from the example of the VEGA-3 laser at CLPU. Our modeling results for the pre-plasma expansion due to the laser pedestal of VEGA-3 were benchmarked by hydrodynamic simulations, revealing good agreement for the evolution before the arrival of the main Gaussian laser intensity peak. Our detailed numerical two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations showed the impact of different pre-plasma scale lengths on the absorption efficiency of laser energy into electrons, relevant for the seeding of other types of radiation. It was shown that the absorption can increase manyfold when increasing the pre-plasma scale length. This effect can be beneficial for the spectral cut-off energy of accelerated protons, where a trade-off between absorption and electron dynamics yields an optimum pre-plasma scale length. The findings can be applied to other PW-class laser facilities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1a84be45216a43aba702788881f5546f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2304-6732 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Photonics |
| spelling | doaj-art-1a84be45216a43aba702788881f5546f2025-01-24T13:46:24ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322025-01-011217110.3390/photonics12010071Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class LasersIuliana-Mariana Vladisavlevici0Michael Ehret1Evgeny Filippov2Enrique García-García3Cruz Mendez4Marta Olivar Ruíz5Óscar Varela6Luca Volpe7Jose Antonio Pérez-Hernández8Centro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainCentro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185 Villamayor, SpainThis work studied the pre-plasma that builds up in interactions of focused high-power PW-class lasers with solid targets at the target surface facing the laser beam, and its impact on the global laser absorption efficiency as well as on the spectral cut-off energy of laser-generated proton beams. Our practical heuristic estimates were derived from the example of the VEGA-3 laser at CLPU. Our modeling results for the pre-plasma expansion due to the laser pedestal of VEGA-3 were benchmarked by hydrodynamic simulations, revealing good agreement for the evolution before the arrival of the main Gaussian laser intensity peak. Our detailed numerical two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations showed the impact of different pre-plasma scale lengths on the absorption efficiency of laser energy into electrons, relevant for the seeding of other types of radiation. It was shown that the absorption can increase manyfold when increasing the pre-plasma scale length. This effect can be beneficial for the spectral cut-off energy of accelerated protons, where a trade-off between absorption and electron dynamics yields an optimum pre-plasma scale length. The findings can be applied to other PW-class laser facilities.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/1/71high-power laserrelativistic laser–plasma interactionlaser energy absorption |
| spellingShingle | Iuliana-Mariana Vladisavlevici Michael Ehret Evgeny Filippov Enrique García-García Cruz Mendez Marta Olivar Ruíz Óscar Varela Luca Volpe Jose Antonio Pérez-Hernández Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers Photonics high-power laser relativistic laser–plasma interaction laser energy absorption |
| title | Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers |
| title_full | Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers |
| title_fullStr | Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers |
| title_short | Theoretical Study of the Pre-Plasma Density Scale Length’s Influence on the Absorption Efficiency in Laser–Solid Interaction at Relativistic Laser Intensities for PW-Class Lasers |
| title_sort | theoretical study of the pre plasma density scale length s influence on the absorption efficiency in laser solid interaction at relativistic laser intensities for pw class lasers |
| topic | high-power laser relativistic laser–plasma interaction laser energy absorption |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/1/71 |
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