Three-dimensional simulations of laser-plasma interactions at ultrahigh intensities

• Autor(a) principal: Fiuza, F.
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Fonseca, R. A., Silva, L. O., Tonge, J., May, J., Mori, W. B.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://ciencia.iscte-iul.pt/id/ci-pub-6377; http://hdl.handle.net/10071/14273
• topic: 3-D Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations; Fast ignition; Intense lasers; Plasma-based accelerators

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are used to investigate the interaction of ultrahigh-intensity lasers (>;1020 W/cm-2) with matter at overcritical densities. Intense laser pulses are shown to penetrate up to relativistic critical density levels and to be strongly self-focused during this process. The heat flux of the accelerated electrons is observed to have an annular structure when the laser is tightly focused, showing that a large fraction of fast electrons is accelerated at an angle. These results shed light into the multidimensional effects present in laser-plasma interactions of relevance to fast ignition of fusion targets and laser-driven ion acceleration in plasmas.