Description
Angular momentum transfer in nonlinear laser-plasma interactions, accompanied by strong axial magnetic field generation (Tesla to kilo-Tesla) [1-2], can significantly influence the dynamics during laser-driven particle acceleration. Axial magnetic field generation is typically identified in systems using lasers with angular momentum, such as circularly polarized lasers [1] and lasers with orbital angular momentum [2]. We demonstrate a novel mechanism for angular momentum transfer with a laser that lacks this characteristic. The mechanism is based on the conservation of canonical momentum during the laser depletion of an ultra-intense, azimuthally polarized laser pulse in underdense plasma. During this process, a strong axial magnetic field (~2 kT) is generated within a nonlinear wakefield in the bubble regime. Our findings are supported by analytical considerations and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations with OSIRIS [3].
[1] Z. Najmudin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 215004 (2001)
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[2] Longman and R. Fedosejevs, Phys. Rev. Research 3, 043180 (2021).
[3] R. A. Fonseca et al., In Computational Science—ICCS 2002, pages 342–351. Springer, 2002.
| Available for oral presentation in a session | Yes |
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