Particle-in-cell simulations of expanding high energy density plasmas with laser ray tracing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a particle-in-cell simulation approach with laser ray tracing for modeling high energy density plasmas, capturing kinetic effects beyond traditional hydrodynamics.

Contribution

It presents the first implementation of laser ray tracing and inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption in a particle-in-cell code and benchmarks it against hydrodynamic models.

Findings

Successful benchmarking of energy deposition and hydrodynamic evolution

First results demonstrating kinetic effects in laser-target interactions

Potential insights into non-local transport and two-temperature phenomena

Abstract

The design and analysis of high energy density (HED) laser experiments typically rely on radiation hydrodynamics simulations. However, some laser-plasma interaction regimes are not collisional and cannot be adequately modeled with hydrodynamics. For example, strongly driven magnetic reconnection and magnetized collisionless shock experiments possess extended hydrodynamic or even kinetic properties, necessitating first-principles kinetic simulations. In this paper, we present the benchmarking and first results obtained with a laser-ray-tracing and inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption module implemented in the particle-in-cell code PSC. The simulation results are compared to radiation hydrodynamic simulations using the FLASH code as well as analytical estimates. We successfully benchmark the energy deposition model and overall hydrodynamic evolution of the systems. We also consider possible kinetic effects that may be expected from laser-target ablation in the HED regime, including non-local transport and two-temperature effects.