Simulation of laser–plasma interactions and fast-electron transport in inhomogeneous plasma

A new framework is introduced for kinetic simulation of laser–plasma interactions in an inhomogeneous plasma motivated by the goal of performing integrated kinetic simulations of fast-ignition laser fusion. The algorithm addresses the propagation and absorption of an intense electromagnetic wave in an ionized plasma leading to the generation and transport of an energetic electron component. The energetic electrons propagate farther into the plasma to much higher densities where Coulomb collisions become important. The high-density plasma supports an energetic electron current, return currents, self-consistent electric fields associated with maintaining quasi-neutrality, and self-consistent magnetic fields due to the currents. Collisions of the electrons and ions are calculated accurately to track the energetic electrons and model their interactions with the background plasma. Up to a density well above critical density, where the laser electromagnetic field is evanescent, Maxwell’s equations are solved with a conventional particle-based, finite-difference scheme. In the higher-density plasma, Maxwell’s equations are solved using an Ohm’s law neglecting the inertia of the background electrons with the option of omitting the displacement current in Ampere’s law. Particle equations of motion with binary collisions are solved for all electrons and ions throughout the system using weighted particles to resolve the density gradient efficiently. The algorithm is analyzed and demonstrated in simulation examples. The simulation scheme introduced here achieves significantly improved efficiencies.     

Microscopic analysis of merging processes of relativistic electron beams propagating in a high-density plasma

The dynamical processes of an energetic electron beam propagating through a high-density plasma have been analyzed using an electromagnetic two-dimensional hybrid simulation code. After an initially solid cylindrical electron beam breaks up into a number of small beamlets, they start to merge with each other by means of their mutual current attractive force. The results show that detailed processes which take place when a pair of beamlets merge into a single one are different for different sizes of beamlets. When the size of the beamlet is small, the merging process is accompanied by magnetic field generation and the energy of the beam electrons then decreases in time. On the other hand, when the beamlet becomes sufficiently large, the merging no longer generates an excess magnetic field, and the energy of beam electrons is kept constant. The difference comes from the magnitude of the return current induced in the surrounding background plasma.     

超强激光与泡沫微结构靶相互作用提高强流电子束产额模拟研究

利用二维粒子模拟方法,本文研究了超强激光与泡沫微结构镀层靶相互作用产生强流电子束问题.研究发现泡沫区域产生了百兆高斯级准静态磁场,形成具有选能作用的"磁势垒",强流电子束中的低能端电子在"磁势垒"的作用下返回激光作用区域,在鞘场和激光场的共同作用下发生多次加速过程,从而显著提升高能电子产额.还应用单粒子模型,分析了电子在激光场作用下的运动行为,验证了多次加速的物理机理.     

Return current instability and its effects on beam-plasma system

The return current induced in a plasma by a relativisitc electron beam generates a new electron-ion two-stream instability (return current instability). Although the effect of these currents on the beam-plasma e-e instability is negligible, there exists a range of wave numbers which is unstable only to return current (RC) instability and not to e-e instability. The electromagnetic waves propagating along the direction of the external magnetic field, in which the plasma is immersed, are stabilized by these currents but the e.m. waves with frequencies,ω ²≪Ω _e ² ≪ω _pe ² (Ω _e andω _pe being cyclotron and plasma frequency for the electrons of the plasma respectively) propagating transverse to the magnetic field get destabilized. Heuristic estimates of plasma heating, due to RC instability and due to decay of ion-acoustic turbulence generated by the return current, are made. The fastest time scale on which the return current delivers energy to the plasma due to the scattering of ion-sound waves by the electrons can be ∼ω _pi ⁻¹ (ω _pi being the plasma frequency for the ions).     

THE PROCESS OF SPACE CURRENT NEUTRALIZATION OF INTENSE RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAM UNDER AN EXTERNALLY APPLIED MAGNETIC GUIDE FIELD

The process of space current neutralization of intense relativistic electron beam under an externally applied magnetic guide field is discussed in this paper. Ionization by electron avalanching and by beam electrons impact and recombination is included in the calculation of plasma density buildup, with plasma heating by return current and two- stream instability taken into account. A code to evaluate the process of space current neutralization was set up. The calculations demonstrate that the optimum gas pressure increases as peak beam current increases and it decreases as the risetime of beam pulse increases.     

Effect of Electron Velocity Distribution on the Heating of Core by Corona in a Spherical Pellet

When a spherical plasma pellet is irradiated symmetrically from all sides by high power laser beams, hot electrons are produced at the plasma resonance layer. They move in the inward radial direction causing a counter-streaming cold electron current flowing outwardly to maintain the charge neutrality. In general, the interaction between the hot electrons and the counter-streaming cold background electrons leads to broadening of the velocity distribution of the latter. For a given heat flux, the electron velocity distribution constrained by the requirements for not supporting beam plasma instabilities, predicts a minimum electron velocity in the plasma ablation zone. These considerations affect the efficiency of heat transfer from the hot corona to the cold core. The purpose of this paper is to study the dependence of core-corona coupling on the electron velocity distribution, laser wavelength and other plasma parameters in detail.     

Effect of cold electron emission on diffusion plasma parameters and the sheath structure in a double plasma device

It is observed experimentally that by injecting cold electrons in the discharge region of a double plasma device, the plasma parameters and sheath structure can be controlled in the other region, which is devoid of any electrical discharge. The main discharge region is separated from the region under investigation by a grounded mesh grid. Both cold and hot ionizing electrons are emitted from separate sets of filaments in the discharge region. With an increase in the cold electron emission current, the plasma parameters in the discharge region get changed, which in turn alter the plasma parameters in the other region. Two important effects caused by cold electrons in the diffusion region are the increase in the plasma density and decrease in the plasma potential. The increase in the plasma density and decrease in the sheath potential drop therefore cause the contraction of the sheath.     

Intense short-pulse lasers irradiating wire and hollow plasma fibers

When an intense laser pulse irradiates a solid-density foil target, electrons produced at the relativistic critical density can be accelerated to relativistic energy by the ponderomotive force. When a plasma fiber is attached to the back of the foil, the produced relativistic electrons are guided to propagate along the fiber for a long distance, because the high-current electron beam induces strong radial electric fields in the fiber. Transport and heating of intense laser-driven relativistic electrons in both wire and hollow plasma fibers are compared theoretically and numerically. We found that the coupling efficiency from the laser to the plasma fiber depends on the fiber structure. Because of the enhanced return currents in the wire fiber, the temperature in the wire fiber is higher than that in the hollow fiber.     

Particle simulation of an ultrarelativistic two-stream instability

A two-stream instability in an unmagnetized plasma is examined by a particle-in-cell simulation. Each beam initially consists of cold electrons and protons that stream at a relative Lorentz factor 100. This is representative for plasma close to the external shocks of gamma-ray bursts. An electrostatic wave develops which saturates by trapping electrons. This wave collapses and the resulting electrostatic turbulence gives an electron momentum distribution that resembles a power law with a spectral break. Some electrons reach Lorentz factors over 1000.     

Application of Emissive Probes for Plasma Potential Measurements in Fusion Devices

In experimental fusion devices, up to now, only cold probes were used to determine the plasma potential in the s crape‐ o ff l ayer (SOL), and their floating potential was assumed to be proportional to the plasma potential. However, drifting electrons or beams shift the current‐voltage characteristic of a cold probe by a voltage, which corresponds to the mean kinetic energy of the drifting electrons. This problem can be avoided by the use of electron emissive probes, since an electron emission current is independent of electron drifts in the surrounding plasma. In addition emissive probes are insensitive to electron temperature fluctuations in the plasma. We have used an arrangement of three emissive probes in the edge plasma region of ISTTOK (Instituto Superior Técnico tokamak) at Lisbon. The probes have been mounted in such a way that the tips are positioned on the same poloidal meridian but on different minor radii in the SOL. With this arrangement, the plasma potential has been measured in the edge region of the ISTTOK, and first results are presented in this contribution.     

Rotating relativistic electron beam-plasma interaction and formation of a field-reversed configuration

Experimental results on interaction of a rotating relativistic electron beam with plasma and neutral gas are presented. The rotating relativistic electron beam has been propagated up to a distance of 150 cm in a plasma. The response of the plasma to the rotating electron beam is found to be of magnetic diffusion type over a plasma density range 10¹¹–10¹³ cm⁻³. Excitation of the axial and azimuthal return currents by the rotating beam and subsequent trapping of the azimuthal return current layer by the magnetic mirror field are observed. A field-reversed configuration has been formed by the rotating relativistic electron beam when injected into neutral hydrogen gas. We have observed field reversal up to three times the initial field in an axial length of 100 cm.     

Interference Behaviors of Resonant Transport Through a Mesoscopic System with ac Responses

Time-dependent interference behaviors on currents transporting through a mesoscopic system are investigated by using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function technique. The system is composed of a quantum dot coupled with two electron reservoirs. The electrons in the quantum dot are perturbed by two microwave fields (MWFs) through gate. The MWFs cause the energy level splitting in the quantum dot to form multi-channel for the tunneling current, and these branches of current interfere to produce stable oscillation. The resulting oscillation of current is strongly associated with frequency relations between MWFs. The timedependent current is the consequence of resonant effects for electrons resonating with quantum dot state and with MWFs. We present numerical calculations for the cases where the Coulomb interaction U = 0. Negative temporal current and differential conductance are observed even if the dc bias is not small. We compare the results with corresponding quantities in the system perturbed by single MWF.     

Non-linear behaviour of electron acoustic wave dynamics in a magnetized plasma with non-thermal hot electrons

Non-linear dynamical behaviour of electron acoustic waves (EAWs) is studied in a magnetized non-thermal plasma (containing inertial cold electrons, inertialess hot electrons following non-thermal distribution function, and static ions) via a fluid dynamical approach. A linear dispersion relation is derived and the propagation of two possible modes and their evolution are studied through the different plasma configuration parameters, such as non-thermality and external magnetic field strength. In a non-linear perturbation regime, a reductive perturbation technique is employed to derive the non-linear evolution equation and the analysis is executed for travelling plane waves in terms of a non-linear dynamical system to enlighten the numerous aspects of the phase space dynamics. The results of numerical simulation predict the existence of a wide class of non-linear structures, namely solitonic, periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic depending upon different controlling plasma parameters. Also, Poincaré return map analysis confirms these non-linear structures of the EAWs.     

Observations of electron diffusion regions at the subsolar magnetopause

Electric and magnetic field observations on the Polar satellite at the subsolar magnetopause show that the magnetopause current is often striated. The largest of the resulting current channels are interpreted as electron diffusion regions because their widths are several electron skin depths and the electron flow U(e) within them does not satisfy E-->+U-->(e)xB-->=0. The data suggest that the magnetopause contains many such electron diffusion regions and that they are required because E-->xB-->/B(2) drifting electrons cannot carry the large filamentary currents imposed on the local plasma. The most probable interpretation of E-->+U-->(e)xB--> not equal 0 is that the pressure term on the right side of the generalized Ohm's law balances this inequality.     

Electron distribution function relaxation in monatomic gases

The authors discuss an analytic solution of the Boltzmann equation which describes the relaxation in time of the electron distribution function for electrons in a plasma derived from the monatomic gases He, Ne, Ar, and Xe. It is assumed that there are no perturbing forces on the electrons and that at t=0 they have a Maxwellian distribution function corresponding to an average energy of 2 eV. The electrons then lose energy through elastic collisions with neutrals and eventually energy-equilibrate with the neutrals, which are assumed to be cold. The evolution of the electron distribution function in time and velocity space is calculated for each gas. This model is approximately correct for the afterglow period of an electrical discharge in a monatomic gas. It is possible to calculate a time which is a measure of the decay time of the electron energy in an afterglow plasma     

Linear analysis of an axially grooved rectangular gyrotron for harmonic operation

In an axially grooved rectangular waveguide the linearized Vlasov equation is solved to find the perturbed distribution function resulting from the electromagnetic forces on the electrons. The resulting beam current and the propagating electromagnetic waves of the cold tube are used in the inhomogeneous Maxwell's equation to derive the general dispersion equation. This equation is then transformed into the electron beam frame and the resulting linear growth rate of amplification is calculated. By maximizing the linear growth rate, the operational parameters of the gyrotron are then optimized.Work supported in part by NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio     

Effects of Lower-Hybrid Heating on the Hot Electrons in an Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance Plasma

Experiments were performed on an electron cyclotron resonance plasma in a dc magnetic mirror to determine the effects of lower hybrid resonance radiation on the anisotropy of the plasma. It was found that the anisotropy of the plasma hot electrons decreased, the flux of hot electrons escaping through the mirror throats decreased and the midplane wall bremsstrahlung rate slightly increased as lower hybrid resonance power was increased. This is explained by observing that cold plasma, expelled by the lower hybrid radiation, decreases the number of scattering centers in the midplane, which results in a deeper diamagnetic well for the hot electrons.     

捕获电子对低杂波与电子回旋波的协同效应的影响

电子回旋波和低杂波的协同效应可有效地提高两只波的电流驱动效率.本文数值研究了捕获电子效应对电子回旋波和低杂波协同的影响.结果显示,随着捕获角的增大,双波协同驱动电流会减小,且协同因子也会明显减小,即捕获角对两只波协同驱动流的影响要比其对单独驱动电流的影响更加敏感.通过加宽低杂波共振区可减弱电子回旋波电流驱动对捕获角的依赖,同时发现随着电子回旋波功率的增加,捕获角对电子回旋波电流驱动的影响也会变小.     

Importance of high local cathode spot pressure on the attachment ofthermal arcs on cold cathodes

The importance of having high local cathode spot pressures for the self-sustaining operation of a thermal arc plasma on a cold cathode is theoretically investigated. Applying a cathode sheath model to a Cu cathode, it is shown that cathode spot plasma pressures ranging 7.4-9.2 atm and 34.2-50 atm for electron temperatures of ~1 eV are needed to account for current densities of 10⁹ and 10¹⁰ A·m^-2, respectively. The study of the different contributions from the ions, the emission electrons, and the back-diffusing plasma electrons to the total current and heat transfer to the cathode spot has allowed us to show the following. 1) Due to the high metallic plasma densities, a strong heating of the cathode occurs and an important surface electric field is established at the cathode surface causing strong thermo-field emission of electrons. 2) Due to the presence of a high density of ions in the cathode vicinity, an important fraction of the total current is carried by the ions and the electron emission is enhanced. 3) The total current is only slightly reduced by the presence of back-diffusing plasma electrons in the cathode sheath. For a current density j_tot=10⁹ A·m^-2 , the current to the cathode surface is mainly transported by the ions (76-91% of j_tot while for a current density j_tot = 10¹⁰ A·m^-2, the thermo-field electrons become the main current carriers (61-72% of j_tot). It is shown that the cathode spot plasma parameters are those of a high pressure metallic gas where deviations from the ideal gas law and important lowering of the ionization potentials are observed     

Anomalous capacitive sheath with deep radio-frequency electric-field penetration

A novel nonlinear effect of anomalously deep penetration of an external radio-frequency electric field into a plasma is described. A self-consistent kinetic treatment reveals a transition region between the sheath and the plasma. Because of the electron velocity modulation in the sheath, bunches in the energetic electron density are formed in the transition region adjacent to the sheath. The width of the region is of order V(T)/omega, where V(T) is the electron thermal velocity, and omega is the frequency of the electric field. The presence of the electric field in the transition region results in a collisionless cooling of the energetic electrons and an additional heating of the cold electrons.