High Power Laser Plasma: Acc.&Fusion

My research areas are laser-plasma physics, strong-field physics, and high-energy-density physics. Research on laser-plasma interactions has been conducted for over 40 years alongside developments in laser technology, achievable beam energy, and intensity. A wide set of fundamental phenomena is now well understood, including laser absorption, plasma heating, particle acceleration, electromagnetic wave scattering, plasma wave generation, nonlinear plasma optics, and more. As a rapidly developing field, laser-plasma interactions offer opportunities for new ideas. Over time, this growing body of research has yielded many significant applications, ranging from compact GeV electron accelerators to laser-driven fusion schemes.

The key concept underlying most applications of laser-plasma interactions is the ponderomotive force, which imparts net linear momentum to electrons and pushes the plasma away from regions of high laser intensity. Another important feature of high-power lasers is their high energy density, which facilitates high-energy-density physics and initial fusion research. However, a laser can carry net angular momentum, including spin and orbital angular momentum, and can therefore potentially create plasma with orbital angular momentum (OAM), especially with a high-power laser. These OAM effects may be related to the plasma environment's high rotational speed or its strong, self-generated magnetic field. Ultimately, this could lead to greater control over the acceleration process or high-energy-density physics.

My research focuses on OAM effects in laser-plasma interactions. More specifically, I am interested in magnetic field generation, electron acceleration by laser or plasma wakefield, second-radiation sources driven by lasers, and new methods of plasma diagnostics. Cutting-edge technology, such as high-power vortex lasers with twisted wavefronts, multiple high-power laser beams, and high-intensity, high-energy lasers, can influence laser-plasma interactions and produce impressive results in various applications. My research has the potential to be applied to initial fusion energy, industry, and medicine. We are passionate about pursuing original ideas and conducting proof-of-principle experiments. We are also interested in developing applications.

We can provide short-term research topics for underground or master students. These topics primarily focus on theoretical analysis, simulation, and code development.

(1) Ultrashort, intense laser pulse interaction with plasma

(2) Helical plasma waves carrying orbital angular momentum

(3) Radiation with orbital angular momentum (OAM) from relativistic electron beams

(4) PIC code development (SymPIC)

(5) Spatio-temporal characterization of ultrashort laser beams in theory and simulation.

Etc.  We can also find cross-disciplinary topics, such as Bayesian in Plasma.

Key words: 

Laser-plasma interactions, electron acceleration, direct laser acceleration, vortex lasers, tight focusing, high-energy ps-pw lasers, X-rays, plasma wakefield acceleration, ion acceleration, relativistic mirrors, self-generated magnetic fields, (nonlinear) Thompson scattering, optical diagnostics, Plasma diagnostics, fast ignition ICF, plasma optics, strong field QED, coherent structure, laser (beam) plasma instabilities, proton imagination, HHG from laser solid plasma, OAM, PIC simulation, intense quantum light (photon kinetic theory), HED science, fast beam transport in plasma.

Vladimir Tikhonchuk’s Conclusion in the book of 《Particle Kinetics and Laser-Plasma Interactions》2023

The physics of laser-plasma interactions is a fast-developing domain of science. New ideas and exciting results appear every year. The aim of this book is to provide a solid background for people interested in participating in these research activities and making their own contributions, either in theory, numerical simulations, or experiments. This notion of a solid theoretical background guided me in choosing the subjects to cover and the examples to discuss. Many exciting results are not included in this work because either they are still evolving and need more time to be ready for review or simply because the domain is too large to cover in this book.

I would like to mention several promising topics that are omitted here. One is the interaction of multiple laser beams with plasma, excitation of plasma modes common to several incident beams, and interaction with plasmas of vector laser beams or beams with a complex wavefront. The overlapping of several laser beams is an indispensable feature of ICF experiments, which requires new developments in the physics of parametric instabilities and controlling the nonlinear effects. The laser beams carrying an orbital angular momentum, complex polarization, or temporal and spatial chirp have a strong potential that is already demonstrated in nonlinear optics, and they will soon be implemented in high-power and high-intensity laser facilities. The challenge is to understand how these new laser technologies may affect the laser-plasma interaction, the efficiency and quality of laser energy deposition, excitation and mitigation of parametric instabilities.

The physics of magnetic field generation, electron and ion acceleration in laser and plasma waves also merits a more detailed analysis and much better comprehension and characterization. Kinetic simulations with VFP and PIC codes show a complicated competition of collisional and collisionless processes that are not yet fully understood. The self-generated magnetic fields affect the energy spectrum of accelerated particles, angular distribution, and energy partition. This concerns the competition of electron and radiation transport in the high energy density physics experiments and also ion kinetics in high-temperature, high-density fusion plasmas. Many new impressive results will come in this area in the near future.

Ref. Books：

1)     《强场激光物理》沈百飞，科学出版社（2023）；

2）   《Particle Kinetics and Laser-Plasma Interactions》，Vladimir Tikhonchuk 2023;

3)     《A Superintense Laser-Plasma Interaction Theory Premier》 Andrea Macchi 2013；

4)     《Laser acceleration》T.Tajima, La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento 2017; 

5)     《Physics of high-intensity laser-plasma interactions》 P. Gibbon， RIVISTA DEL NUOVO CIMENTO 2012；

6)     《Unifying Physics of Accelerators, Lasers and Plasma》，Andrei Seryi 2015

7)     《The Physics of Laser Plasma Interactions》 William L. Kruer, Westview Press；

8）   《Applications of Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration》CRC Press 2018 ；

9） 《惯性聚变物理》，Stefano Atzeni &Jürgen Meyer-ter-Vehn合著，沈百飞翻译，科学出版社于（2008）；

10） 《An Introduction to ICF》, S.Pfalzner (2006), CRC Press；  

11）    Innovative Education and Training in high power laser plasmas (PowerLaPs) for plasma physics, high power laser–matter interactions and high energy density physics – theory and experiments；

        Innovative education and training in high power laser plasmas (PowerLaPs) for plasma physics, high power laser matter interactions and high energy density physics: experimental diagnostics and simulations；