Scaling of thin wire cylindrical compression after 100 fs Joule surface heating with material, diameter and laser energy
Plasma Physics
2025-07-17 v1
Abstract
We present the first systematic experimental validation of return-current-driven implosion scaling in micrometer-sized wires irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses. Employing XFEL-based imaging with sub-micrometer spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution, supported by hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations, we reveal how return current density depends precisely on wire diameter, material properties, and incident laser energy. We identify deviations from simple theoretical predictions due to geometrically influenced electron escape dynamics. These results refine and confirm the scaling laws essential for predictive modeling in high-energy-density physics and inertial fusion research.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.12109,
title = {Scaling of thin wire cylindrical compression after 100 fs Joule surface heating with material, diameter and laser energy},
author = {L. Yang and M. -L. Herbert and C. Bähtz and V. Bouffetier and E. Brambrink and T. Dornheim and N. Fefeu and T. Gawne and S. Göde and J. Hagemann and H. Höeppner and L. G. Huang and O. S. Humphries and T. Kluge and D. Kraus and J. Lütgert and J. -P. Naedler and M. Nakatsutsumi and A. Pelka and T. R. Preston and C. Qu and S. V. Rahul and R. Redmer and M. Rehwald and L. Randolph and J. J. Santos and M. Šmíd and U. Schramm and J. -P. Schwinkendorf and M. Vescovi and U. Zastrau and K. Zeil and A. Laso Garcia and T. Toncian and T. E. Cowan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.12109},
year = {2025}
}