Interaction features of two ultra-intense laser pulses self-trapped in underdense plasmas

Abstract

The interaction of two parallel relativistic laser beams in underdense plasmas is investigated by considering the evolution of their wave envelopes. The energy transfer between the two lasers is given by an expression based on the evolution of the total laser power in a regime without beam mixing. It is shown that how the energy is transferred depends nonlinearly on the initial phase difference of the lasers, and the result of the interaction depends on the laser intensity, spot radius, and their separation distance. The results are verified by direct numerical solution of the relativistic nonlinear Schrödinger equations for the laser envelopes as well as particle-in-cell simulation. The study and results should be helpful for understanding the energy transfer behavior of multiple co-propagating laser beams in underdense plasmas.

Acceleration of spin-polarized proton beams via two parallel laser pulses

“…Further, the plasma was assumed to have low density. Still, this publication showed that the two channels can attract each other, an effect which also has been observed in PIC simulations with higher plasma densities [34,35]. Other effects that can occur in our present setup can partly be observed in the extensive studies already performed for MVA [10,11].…”

“…The interaction of two laser pulses in a plasma has been examined in various publications [32][33][34][35], albeit without considering spin polarization. In a publication by Dong et al, the interaction of two laser-created channels was studied solving the equations for the pulses co-propagating in the plasma [33].…”