1. Guided Electromagnetic Discharge Pulses Driven by Short Intense Laser Pulses: Characterisation and Modelling
- Author
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Ehret, M., Bailly-Grandvaux, M., Korneev, Ph., Apiñaniz, J. I., Brabetz, C., Morace, A., Bradford, P., d'Humières, E., Schaumann, G., Bagnoud, V., Malko, S., Matveevskii, C., Roth, M., Volpe, L., Woolsey, N. C., and Santos, J. J.
- Subjects
Physics - Plasma Physics ,J.2 - Abstract
Strong electromagnetic pulses (EMP) are generated from intense laser interactions with solid-density targets, and can be guided by the target geometry, specifically through conductive connections to the ground. We present an experimental characterization, by time- and spatial-resolved proton deflectometry, of guided electromagnetic discharge pulses along wires including a coil, driven by 0.5 ps, 50 J, 1e19 W/cm2 laser pulses. Proton-deflectometry data allows to time-resolve first the EMP due to the laser-driven target charging and then the return EMP from the ground through the conductive target stalk. Both EMPs have a typical duration of tens of ps and correspond to currents in the kA-range with electric-field amplitudes of multiple GV/m. The sub-mm coil in the target rod creates lensing effects on probing protons, due to both magnetic- and electric-field contributions. This way, protons of 10 MeV-energy range are focused over cm-scale distances. Experimental results are supported by analytical modelling and high-resolution numerical particle-in-cell simulations, unraveling the likely presence of a surface plasma, which parameters define the discharge pulse dispersion in the non-linear propagation regime.
- Published
- 2022
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