Underdense relativistically thermal plasma produced by magnetically assisted direct laser acceleration

oleh: K. Weichman, J. P. Palastro, A. P. L. Robinson, R. Bingham, A. V. Arefiev

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: American Physical Society 2022-10-01

Deskripsi

We introduce the first approach to volumetrically generate relativistically thermal plasma at gas-jet-accessible density. Using fully kinetic simulations and theory, we demonstrate that two stages of direct laser acceleration driven by two laser pulses in an applied magnetic field can heat a significant plasma volume to multi-MeV average energy. The highest-momentum feature is 2D-isotropic, persists after the interaction, and includes the majority of electrons, enabling experimental access to bulk-relativistic, high-energy-density plasma in an optically diagnosable regime for the first time.