Laboratory simulation to study the nonlinear evolution of right-hand circularly polarised wave in laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

To simulate the astrophysical scenarios at the scale of laboratory astrophysics, the interaction of high-power lasers with plasmas is increasingly being used. So, in this perspective, a nonlinear wave-wave interaction between right-hand circularly polarised wave (R-mode wave) and electron plasma wave (EPW) is proposed to understand the localization of the pump R-mode wave and associated magnetic turbulence at electron scale in magnetized plasma relevant to laboratory astrophysics. The ponderomotive force and relativistic variation of electron mass are accountable for this nonlinear wave-wave interaction model. For this nonlinear dynamics, coupled model equations for EPW and R-mode wave are developed and solved by laboratory simulations utilizing finite difference and pseudo-spectral methods. The observed simulation findings, like the nonlinear evolution of the pump wave, typical scale size of the formed localized structures, and electron scale turbulent spectra associated with the coherent structures resemble various laboratory and space plasma scenarios. A semi-analytical model in the paraxial limits is also developed to understand the physics behind the localization process of the pump wave inside the plasma medium.