Integrated calculations of short-pulse laser interactions with matter

Abstract

A complete description of high energy density physics experiments on laser systems incorporating short, picosecond, beamlines requires a daunting breadth of physics, which cannot reasonably be included in a single model. Modern particle in cell (PIC) codes, Vlasov–Fokker–Planck models and radiation hydrodynamic codes together constitute the tools required to model key aspects of short-pulse laser–plasma interaction in such experiments. A predictive modelling capability in this area requires that all these tools are applied to a given problem. Our approach is to develop an integrated modelling capability in which these detailed models for different aspects of the problem are linked together. We outline our methodology and demonstrate the approach taken to link PIC models of laser–plasma interaction into hybrid models of electron transport within a radiation hydrodynamics code. This integrated model is used to study the absorption and transport of short-pulse delivered energy in a solid diamond target, highlighting distinct differences between the integrated results and modelling which relies on an assumed hot electron spectrum. We extend this work to consider structured targets which show the promise of providing an additional element of control over target heating as well as presenting an opportunity to test the transport models employed. Finally we demonstrate the survivability of such targets to the pressures generated by isochoric heating over the timescales of the laser–plasma interaction.