High-angle deflection of the energetic electrons by a voluminous magnetic structure in near-normal intense laser-plasma interactions

J. Peebles, A. V. Arefiev, S. Zhang, C. McGuffey, M. Spinks, J. Gordon, E. W. Gaul, G. Dyer, M. Martinez, M. E. Donovan, T. Ditmire, J. Park, H. Chen, H. S. McLean, M. S. Wei, S. I. Krasheninnikov, and F. N. Beg
Phys. Rev. E 98, 053202 – Published 7 November 2018

Abstract

The physics governing electron acceleration by a relativistically intense laser is not confined to the critical density surface; it also pervades the subcritical plasma in front of the target. Here particles can gain many times the ponderomotive energy from the overlying laser and strong fields can grow. Experiments using a high-contrast laser and a prescribed laser prepulse demonstrate that development of the preplasma has an unexpectedly strong effect on the most energetic, superponderomotive electrons. The presented two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal how strong, voluminous magnetic structures that evolve in the preplasma impact high-energy electrons more significantly than low-energy ones for longer pulse durations and how the common practice of tilting the target to a modest incidence angle can be enough to initiate strong deflection. The implications are that multiple angular spectral measurements are necessary to prevent misleading conclusions from past and future experiments.

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  • Received 20 November 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.98.053202

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Accelerators & BeamsPlasma Physics

Authors & Affiliations

J. Peebles1,2, A. V. Arefiev1,3, S. Zhang1, C. McGuffey1, M. Spinks3, J. Gordon3, E. W. Gaul3, G. Dyer3,4, M. Martinez3, M. E. Donovan3, T. Ditmire3, J. Park5, H. Chen5, H. S. McLean5, M. S. Wei6, S. I. Krasheninnikov1, and F. N. Beg1

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Center for Energy Research, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
  • 2Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623, USA
  • 3Center for High Energy Density Science, University of Texas, Austin, 2500 Speedway, Texas 78712, USA
  • 4SLAC National Acceleration Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
  • 5Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, USA
  • 6General Atomics, 3550 General Atomics Court, San Diego, California 92121, USA

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 5 — November 2018

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