Pair plasma cushions in the hole-boring scenario
arXiv:1307.5198 · doi:10.1088/0741-3335/55/9/095016
Abstract
Pulses from a 10 PW laser are predicted to produce large numbers of gamma-rays and electron-positron pairs on hitting a solid target. However, a pair plasma, if it accumulates in front of the target, may partially shield it from the pulse. Using stationary, one-dimensional solutions of the two-fluid (electron-positron) and Maxwell equations, including a classical radiation reaction term, we examine this effect in the hole-boring scenario. We find the collective effects of a pair plasma "cushion" substantially reduce the reflectivity, converting the absorbed flux into high-energy gamma-rays. There is also a modest increase in the laser intensity needed to achieve threshold for a non-linear pair cascade.
17 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Typos corrected, reference updated
References in corpus (3)
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