Kinetic modeling of wakefield generation in ultrahigh intensity laser-plasma interaction

Abstract

Quasistatic model of wakefield generation in ultrahigh intensity laser-plasma interaction is presented. The model implies that the plasma wake is slowly changed in the laser pulse frame. 2D axially symmetrical quasistatic PIC code based on this model is developed. The code provides stable numerical computation in ultrahigh intensity regime and much shorter computational time than that of standard PIC codes. The numerical modeling of the plasma wakefield generated by high power laser pulse is presented. A comparison with simulation results obtained by fully 3D electromagnetic PIC code is done. © 2007 IOP Publishing Ltd.