Plasma heating by two laser fields.

Abstract

The heating of a plasma by electrons in the simultaneous presence of weak and strong laser fields by the inverse bremsstrahlung process is considered from a quantum-mechanical viewpoint. A kinetic equation is derived and the change in kinetic energy of the plasma electrons is calculated. Results show that the joint action of the two laser beams gives a nonvanishing but large heating rate in the regime of high intensity of the strong field. A physical explanation for this behavior is provided.