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Optical modelling of shaped laser pulses in plasma

Igor A. Andriyash, Cedric Thaury

Abstract

This work provides a brief review of the numerical methods for modelling the optical propagation of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse in plasmas and ionizable gases. These methods are implemented in an open-source simulation toolkit Axiprop, which is now actively used for design studies in the context of laser plasma acceleration of electrons (LPA). We present two examples of such studies: optical plasma waveguide generation, and phase-locked flying-focus LPA. These tools enable the identification of complex effects impacting both energy deposition during waveguide formation, and the pulse propagation dynamics that governs wakefield structure, ultimately determining the properties of the accelerated electron bunches. The developed tools and presented simulation designs are relevant to experiments on laser plasma interactions at modern high power laser facilities.

Optical modelling of shaped laser pulses in plasma

Abstract

This work provides a brief review of the numerical methods for modelling the optical propagation of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse in plasmas and ionizable gases. These methods are implemented in an open-source simulation toolkit Axiprop, which is now actively used for design studies in the context of laser plasma acceleration of electrons (LPA). We present two examples of such studies: optical plasma waveguide generation, and phase-locked flying-focus LPA. These tools enable the identification of complex effects impacting both energy deposition during waveguide formation, and the pulse propagation dynamics that governs wakefield structure, ultimately determining the properties of the accelerated electron bunches. The developed tools and presented simulation designs are relevant to experiments on laser plasma interactions at modern high power laser facilities.
Paper Structure (11 sections, 23 equations, 3 figures)

This paper contains 11 sections, 23 equations, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Basics of optical calculations
  3. Propagation in vacuum
  4. Propagation in plasma
  5. Implementation
  6. Axiparabola for laser plasma acceleration
  7. Axiparabola beam in vacuum
  8. Plasma waveguide generation
  9. Flying-focus LPA
  10. Summary
  11. Acknowledgements

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Maximum of the on-axis electric field (a), and apparent on-axis pulse group velocity along the focal line (b). Red curves correspond to the standard axiparabola \ref{['axi_sag']}, blue curve in (a) has the applied attenuation \ref{['eq:attenuation']}, and blue curve in (b) also has phase correction \ref{['pfc_4']}. The color intensity in (b) is proportional to the field amplitude.
  • Figure 2: (a) Radial profiles of maximum intensity as function of pulse propagation distance in vacuum (a1) and in plasma (a2). (b) Plasma pressure produced by OFI process calculated with Axiprop (b1) and with FBPIC (b2).(b) Intensity spatio-temporal profiles at $z=526$ mm in vacuum (c1), in plasma modelled by Axiprop (c2), and in plasma modelled by FBPIC (c3).
  • Figure 3: (a) Propagation of the on-axis laser intensity profile, ${I(z, \xi=z-ct, r=0)}$, in ionizable plasma with profile shown in grey (scaled) simulated with Axiprop. (b) Propagations of the on-axis laser intensity (orange), electron density (green) and longitudinal field $E_z$ (red-blue) profiles in FBPIC simulation. (c) Instantaneous distributions of laser intensity and electron density after propagation to distance $z=536$ mm. (d) Propagation of the electron bunch spectrum. Colormaps for intensity and electron density values are shared between (a,b,c)