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Plasma hydrodynamics of the intense laser-cluster interaction
H M Milchberg1, S J McNaught, E Parra
1Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|December 12, 2001
Summary
Intense laser pulses interacting with tiny clusters cause plasma resonance. This resonance enhances the ponderomotive force, significantly altering plasma behavior and influencing extreme ultraviolet and X-ray generation efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Plasma physics
- Laser-matter interaction
- Nanoparticle science
Background:
- Intense laser-cluster interactions are crucial for generating energetic particles and radiation.
- Understanding the dynamics of laser-driven plasma expansion is key to optimizing these processes.
- Previous models often simplified the self-consistent nature of the laser field's influence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model for intense laser-cluster interactions, including self-consistent laser field treatment.
- To investigate the role of non-uniform expansion and plasma resonance in cluster dynamics.
- To explain experimental observations of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray generation efficiency dependence on laser pulse width.
Main Methods:
- Development of a 1D hydrodynamic model.
- Self-consistent treatment of the laser field.
- Simulation of laser-cluster interactions with varying initial cluster sizes and laser parameters.
Main Results:
- Non-uniform expansion leads to long-time resonance of the laser field at the critical density plasma layer for clusters as small as ~25 Å radius.
- The ponderomotive force is significantly enhanced at the critical density surface.
- This enhanced ponderomotive force can substantially modify plasma hydrodynamics even at moderate laser intensities (10^15 W/cm^2) and specific wavelengths (800 nm).
Conclusions:
- The model successfully explains the dependence of EUV and X-ray generation efficiency on laser pulse width in experiments.
- Self-consistent laser field effects and ponderomotive force are critical factors in laser-cluster interactions.
- The findings provide insights into optimizing laser parameters for efficient radiation generation from nanoclusters.