Ultra-high-pressure generation in the relativistic transparency regime in laser-irradiated nanowire arrays.

Ong, J F; Ghenuche, P; Turcu, I C Edmond; Pukhov, A; Tanaka, K A · Phys Rev E · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We show that an ultra-high-pressure plasma can be generated when an aligned nanowire is irradiated by a laser with relativistic transparent intensity. Using a particle-in-cell simulation, we demonstrate that the expanded plasma following the z pinch becomes relativistically transparent and compressed longitudinally by the oscillating component of the ponderomotive force. The compressed structure persists throughout the pulse duration with a maximum pressure of 40Tbar when irradiated with a laser at an intensity of 10^{23}Wcm^{-2}, 5× higher than the z-pinch pressure. These results suggest an alternative approach to extending the current attainable pressure in the laboratory.