Ryan Royle | Searcharxiv

arXiv2022

Optimizing laser coupling, matter heating, and particle acceleration from solids using multiplexed ultraintense lasers

Realizing the full potential of ultrahigh-intensity lasers for particle and radiation generation will require multi-beam arrangements due to technology limitations. Here, we investigate how to optimize their coupling with solid targets. Experimentally, we show that overlapping two intense lasers in a mirror-like configuration onto a solid with a large preplasma can greatly improve the generation of hot electrons at the target front and ion acceleration at the target backside. The underlying mechanisms are analyzed through multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations, revealing that the self-induced magnetic fields driven by the two laser beams at the target front are susceptible to reconnection, which is one possible mechanism to boost electron energization. In addition, the resistive magnetic field generated during the transport of the hot electrons in the target bulk tends to improve their collimation. Our simulations also indicate that such effects can be further enhanced by overlapping more than two laser beams.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2017

Kinetic modeling of x-ray laser-driven solid Al plasmas via particle-in-cell simulation

Solid-density plasmas driven by intense x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) radiation are seeded by sources of non-thermal photoelectrons and Auger electrons that ionize and heat the target via collisions. Simulation codes that are commonly used to model such plasmas, such as collisional-radiative (CR) codes, typically assume a Maxwellian distribution and thus instantaneous thermalization of the source electrons. In this study, we present a detailed description and initial applications of a collisional particle-in-cell code, PICLS, that has been extended with a self-consistent radiation transport model and Monte-Carlo models for photoionization and KLL Auger ionization, enabling the fully kinetic simulation of XFEL-driven plasmas. The code is used to simulate two experiments previously performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source investigating XFEL-driven solid-density Al plasmas. It is shown that PICLS-simulated pulse transmissions using the Ecker-Kr\"oll continuum-lowering model agree much better with measurements than do simulations using the Stewart-Pyatt model. Good quantitative agreement is also found between the time-dependent PICLS results and those of analogous simulations by the CR code SCFLY, which was used in the analysis of the experiments to accurately reproduce the observed K{\alpha} emissions and pulse transmissions. Finally, it is shown that the effects of the non-thermal electrons are negligible for the conditions of the particular experiments under investigation.

physics.plasm-ph↗