Hybrid PIC-fluid model for numerical simulation of laser-plasma interaction

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid simulation model combining kinetic ions and fluid electrons to efficiently and accurately simulate laser-plasma interactions in three dimensions, capturing key plasma dynamics.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel hybrid PIC-fluid model that integrates ion kinetics with electron fluid dynamics and a laser-envelope approach for improved laser-plasma interaction simulations.

Findings

Efficient 3D simulation of laser-plasma interactions.

Captures ion-scale dynamics and pressure anisotropy.

Self-consistent evolution of energy and charge states.

Abstract

A hybrid PIC-fluid model is proposed for three dimensional numerical simulation of laser-plasma interaction. Ions are treated kinetically, electrons as a ten-moment fluid, capturing ion-scale dynamics, pressure anisotropy, and non-Maxwellian distributions efficiently. A laser-envelope model handles energy deposition and ponderomotive heating without resolving optical oscillations. Collisional and ionisation processes ensure self-consistent evolution of energy and charge states. The model is implemented in the AKAM code, providing a scalable framework that bridges fully kinetic and fluid approaches for high-energy-density and laboratory plasma applications.