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arXiv · 1311.4534

Kinematic Constraints on Absorption of Ultraintense Laser Light

M. C. Levy·S. C. Wilks·M. Tabak·S. B. Libby·M. G. Baring
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Abstract

We derive upper and lower bounds on the absorption of ultraintense laser light by solids as a function of fundamental laser and plasma parameters. These limits emerge naturally from constrained optimization techniques applied to a generalization of the laser-solid interaction as a strongly-driven, relativistic, two degree of freedom Maxwell-Vlasov system. We demonstrate that the extrema and the phase-space-averaged absorption must always increase with intensity, and increase most rapidly when $10^{18} < I_L \ \lambda_L^2 < 10^{20}$ W $\mu$m$^2/$cm$^{2}$. Our results indicate that the fundamental empirical trend towards increasing fractional absorption with irradiance therefore reflects the underlying phase space constraints.

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M. C. Levy, S. C. Wilks, M. Tabak, S. B. Libby, M. G. Baring. 2013-11-12. Kinematic Constraints on Absorption of Ultraintense Laser Light. https://arxiv.org/abs/1311.4534

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