Parametric investigation of laser interaction with uniform and nanostructured near-critical plasmas

Abstract: Laser interaction with uniform and nanostructured near-critical plasmas has been investigated by means of 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The effect of a nanostructure (modeled as a collection of solid-density nanospheres) on energy absorption and radiative losses has been assessed in a wide range of laser intensities (normalized amplitude a0 = 1 - 135) and average densities of the target (electron density ne = 1 - 9nc, where nc is the critical electron density). The nanostructure was found to affect mainly the conversion efficiency of laser energy into ion kinetic energy and radiative losses for the highest simulated intensities.