Generating axial magnetic fields via two plasmon decay driven by a twisted laser

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method to generate strong axial magnetic fields in plasma using twisted laser light with orbital angular momentum to stimulate two-plasmon decay, supported by simulations and theoretical analysis.

Contribution

It presents a new approach leveraging twisted light to induce axial magnetic fields via TPD, combining theory and 3D fluid simulations for validation.

Findings

Maximum magnetic field of ~40T predicted and achieved.

OAM is conserved during the process.

The growth rate of TPD is proportional to laser amplitude.

Abstract

We propose a new way of axial magnetic fields generation in a non-relativistic laser intensity regime by using a twisted light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) to stimulate two-plasmon decay (TPD) in a plasma. The growth of TPD driven by an OAM light in a Laguerre-Gauss (LG) mode is investigated through three dimensional fluid simulations and theory. A theory based on the assumption that the electron plasma waves (EPWs) are locally driven by a number of local plane-wave lasers predicts the maximum growth rate proportional to the peak amplitude of the pump laser field and is verified by the simulations. The OAM conservation during its transportation from the laser to the TPD daughter EWPs is shown by both the theory and the simulations. The theory predicts generation of ~40T axial magnetic fields through the OAM absorption via TPD, which has perspective applications in the field of high energy density physics.