Session CP1 - Poster Session II.
POSTER session, Monday afternoon, November 15
Room Exhibit Hall A, SCC
The interaction of a 80 fs laser pulse with thin, overdense plasma targets is investigated via particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. During the interaction, electrons are accelerated into the foil and are recirculated by the sheath electric field. The impact of the laser pulse creates an electrostatic ion shock that propagates through the foil. At the shock front, ions are accelerated in both longitudinal and transverse directions. Electromagnetic perturbations are observed to propagate away from the shock and through the foil. The dispersion relation for these perturbations is derived and shown to agree with the simulations. The spectrum of the emitted waves is broad with peak frequencies in the THz range. An observed dependency of the emitted peak frequency on the laser intensity is explained