Shi Y, Arefiev A, Hao JX, Zheng J. Efficient Generation of Axial Magnetic Field by Multiple Laser Beams with Twisted Pointing Directions.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023;
130:155101. [PMID:
37115879 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.130.155101]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Strong laser-driven magnetic fields are crucial for high-energy-density physics and laboratory astrophysics research, but generation of axial multikilotesla fields remains a challenge. The difficulty comes from the inability of a conventional linearly polarized laser beam to induce the required azimuthal current or, equivalently, angular momentum (AM). We show that several laser beams can overcome this difficulty. Our three-dimensional kinetic simulations demonstrate that a twist in their pointing directions enables them to carry orbital AM and transfer it to the plasma, thus generating a hot electron population carrying AM needed to sustain the magnetic field. The resulting multikilotesla field occupies a volume that is tens of thousands of cubic microns and it persists on a picosecond timescale. The mechanism can be realized for a wide range of laser intensities and pulse durations. Our scheme is well suited for implementation using multikilojoule petawatt-class lasers, because, by design, they have multiple beamlets and because the scheme requires only linear polarization.
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