Two-Plasmon Decay Driven by Multiple Finite Bandwidth Laser Beams

ORAL

Abstract

Multiple laser beams can cooperatively drive two-plasmon decay (TPD) through the sharing of common Langmuir waves, leading to low-instability thresholds. This is potentially important for inertial confinement fusion because of the ability of TPD to produce hot electrons. The effect of finite laser bandwidth and multiple beam colors on cooperative TPD has been investigated with an extended Zakharov model\footnote{D. F. DuBois, D. A. Russell, and H. A. Rose, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{74}, 3983 (1995); D. A. Russell and D. F. DuBois, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{86}, 428 (2001).} with a view to mitigating the instability for ignition-scale (National Ignition Facility) polar-drive interaction parameters. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

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Authors

  • J. Zhang

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester

  • J.F. Myatt

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester

  • A.V. Maximov

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester

  • R.W. Short

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester

  • D.F. DuBois

    • Lodestar Research Corporation

  • D.A. Russell

    • Lodestar Research Corporation

  • H.X. Vu

    • U. of California, San Diego