Ravindra Kumar (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research)
I will present the ultrafast dynamics of the hot plasma generated on a solid surface by 30 femtosecond, 150 TW, 800 nm, high contrast laser at TIFR. The dynamics [1] of relativistic electrons created by the laser are of utmost importance for target heating and hard x-ray and ion sources. In addition, the strong shocks created by the laser play an important role in the material excitation and transport. We have recently fashioned a diagnostic for subpicosecond monitoring of transverse plasma motion and shock propagation. I will present the first results from these studies [2] and discuss the evolution of the megagauss magnetic field in the plasma through the linear and nonlinear regimes [3] into the turbulent state [4]. I will also touch upon a novel mechanism for magnetic field generation that arises out of finite beam sizes in laser-plasma interaction [5].
This work is a collaboration with Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar and IIT Delhi in India and RAL and York University in the UK.
References:
[1] M. Shaikh et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 065001 (2018)
[2] K. Jana et al., submitted (2019)
[3] D. Mandal et al., in preparation (2019)
[4] G. Chatterjee et. al., Nature Commun. 10.1038/NCOMMS15970 (2017)
[5] A. Das et. al, PR Research (2020, to appear)