Laser field reconstruction for the modeling of laser-plasma interaction in cylindrical geometry.

Abstract

High-accuracy modeling of laser-plasma interactions at high intensity requires precise knowledge of the laser field, including its asymmetries. However, the experimental characterization of such lasers is often limited to fluence measurements in transverse planes, which creates the need for a reliable field reconstruction method. In this work, we present an implementation of the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm with mode decomposition (GSA-MD) using the Laguerre-Gauss mode basis in cylindrical geometry. We show that, for lasers with a high degree of cylindrical symmetry, this approach can be more efficient than its Cartesian counterpart. Additionally, we show how the reconstructed laser field can be more directly used as input in particle-in-cell simulations using the azimuthal Fourier decomposition through simple analytical expressions. Both versions of the GSA-MD and examples of inputs integrating the reconstructed laser in particle-in-cell simulations are made available.