Modulational instability in large-amplitude linear laser wakefields.

Abstract

We investigate the growth of ion density perturbations in large-amplitude linear laser wakefields via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Growth rates and wave numbers are found to be consistent with a longitudinal strong-field modulational instability. We examine the transverse dependence of the instability for a Gaussian wakefield envelope and show that growth rates and wave numbers can be maximized off axis. On-axis growth rates are found to decrease with increasing ion mass or electron temperature. These results are in close agreement with the dispersion relation of a Langmuir wave with an energy density that is large compared to the plasma thermal energy density. The implications for wakefield accelerators, in particular multipulse schemes, are discussed.