Expansion of a relativistic ionization wave launched by a sheath field in a strong magnetic field
Abstract
MG-scale magnetic fields are now available through pulsed power technology, which opens the possibility of radially confining laser-generated plasma filaments in clustering deuterium jets. However, a long-lived relativistic ionization wave driven by a population of hot electrons created by an intense laser pulse, can be launched into the surrounding gas by the sheath field of the filament, potentially affecting the transport of the entire plasma and negating the advantage of the confinement. In this work, we use 2D kinetic simulations to examine the impact of the applied magnetic field on the propagation of the ionization wave and to determine the criterion that must be satisfied to prevent the wave from being launched.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, under Award Number This works was supported by the US Department of Energy (DE-SC001900). The simulations use the allocation in TACC.- Publication:
-
APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019APS..DPPC10063M