Physics of Giant ElectroMagnetic Pulse generation in short pulse laser experiments
Abstract
In this paper we describe the physical processes that lead to the generation of Giant Electro- Magnetic Pulses (GEMP) on powerful laser facilities. Our study is based on experimental mea- surements of both the charging of a solid target irradiated by an ultra-short, ultra-intense laser and the detection of the electromagnetic emission in the GHz domain. An unambiguous correlation between the neutralisation current in the target holder and the electromagnetic emission shows that the source of the GEMP is the remaining positive charge inside the target after the escape of fast electrons accelerated by the ultra-intense laser. A simple model for calculating this charge in the thick target case is presented. From this model and knowing the geometry of the target holder, it becomes possible to estimate the intensity and the dominant frequencies of the GEMP on any facility.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1503.02264,
title = {Physics of Giant ElectroMagnetic Pulse generation in short pulse laser experiments},
author = {Alexandre Poyé and Sébastien Hulin and Mathieu Bailly-Grandvaux and Jean-Luc Dubois and Jérôme Ribolzi and Didier Raffestin and Matthieu Bardon and Frédéric Lubrano-Lavaderci and Emmanuel D'Humières and Joao Jorge Santos and Philippe Nicolaï and Vladimir Tikhonchuk},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.02264},
year = {2015}
}