Generating energetic electrons through staged acceleration in the two-plasmon-decay instability in inertial confinement fusion.
A new hot-electron generation mechanism in two-plasmon-decay instabilities is described based on a series of 2D, long-term (~10 ps) particle-in-cell and fluid simulations under parameters relevant to inertial confinement fusion. The simulations show that significant laser absorption and hot-electron generation occur in the nonlinear stage. The hot electrons are stage accelerated from the low-density region to the high-density region. New modes with small phase velocities develop in the low-density region in the nonlinear stage and form the first stage for electron acceleration. Electron-ion collisions are shown to significantly reduce the efficiency of this acceleration mechanism.
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
R
R
Yan
C
C
Ren
J
J
Li
A V
AV
Maximov
W B
WB
Mori
Z-M
ZM
Sheng
F S
FS
Tsung