e-PLAS Analysis of Short Pulse Laser-Matter Interaction Experiments

Summary form only given. The transport of relativistic electrons generated in wire and foil targets by short-pulse lasers is examined with the new e-PLAS simulation code base on implicit-moment/hybrid techniques. In a 40 mum diameter Cu wire (Z_eff = 15) as recently illuminated on the TITAN LLNL laser, for example, a 1.7times10^-20 W/cm² laser beam delivering a flat 30 mum spot from the left (with 40 % absorption) generates the hot electron density profile depicted below at 940 fs. The peak hot density in the laser spot is ~3times10²¹ electrons/cm³. This density drops to 3times10¹⁹ electrons/cm³ 200 microns into the wire. A peak temperature of 2 keV is achieved through Joule heating of the background electrons in the wire "head" near the deposition surface. Here, 300 MG thermoelectric B-fields are also calculated. Parameter studies relate the hot electron stopping to the surface B-field, modest drag slowing, and the background cold electron resistivity, which is bleached by background heating to low values at late times.