Control of cross-beam energy transfer through laser-plasma parameter adjustment

TL;DR

This study combines analytical theory and simulations to understand and control cross-beam energy transfer in laser-plasma interactions by adjusting laser parameters, revealing nonlinear effects, saturation behaviors, and mitigation strategies.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the nonlinear evolution of CBET and demonstrates how laser parameter adjustments can effectively control energy transfer.

Findings

High harmonic IAW reduces CBET saturation at high intensities.

Wave breaking causes CBET saturation and growth.

Smoothed lasers mitigate CBET saturation compared to Gaussian beams.

Abstract

Cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) between two lasers is investigated through both analytical theory and two-dimensional simulations, with particular attention to its linear and nonlinear evolution under various laser-plasma conditions over timescales from several hundred picoseconds to one nanosecond. Based on the dispersion relation of stimulated Brillouin scattering driven by two laser beams, we obtain a laser frequency difference range within which CBET occurs. In the nonlinear regime, high harmonic of ion acoustic wave (IAW) leads to the reduction of saturation level at high laser intensities ($I\gtrsim 10^{15}\,\mathrm{W/cm^2}$). The wave breaking of harmonic IAW causes the second growth and final saturation of CBET. At low intensities, the linear saturation level slowly varies over time. Compared to Gaussian beams, smoothed lasers with speckles can mitigate CBET saturation level by reducing the effective overlap region. The maximum energy transfer is found at a frequency difference slightly smaller than the linear matching condition due to the reduction of IAW frequency induced by ion trapping. We find that the nonlinear behavior is sensitive to laser intensity, frequency difference, electron density, and ion temperature. The total energy transfer rate increases approximately linearly with laser intensity, underscoring its critical role in CBET control.