Laser-intensity-spike-dominated hot electron generation from two-plasmon decay instability driven by moderate-bandwidth pulses
Our direct-drive-relevant experiments on the low-coherence Kunwu laser facility identify two-plasmon decay (TPD) as the primary source of hot electrons, and demonstrate for the first time that broadband laser pulses enhance TPD. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we attribute this TPD enhancement and the consequent hot electron production to stochastic intensity spikes inherent in broadband laser fields, robust in both weakly- and strongly-driven regimes. These findings suggest that mitigating hot electron generation requires suppressing these intensity spikes.
Authors
- Liang Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4162-5309)
- X. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2399-7646)
- H.Y. Liu
- Yu Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1793-7409)
- A. Lei
- K. Y. Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1833-9377)
- C. -W. Lian
- H. Wen
- H. H. An
- X.C. Wang
- X. Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8964-5109)
- Z. H. Fang
- Z.H. Cai
- Y-K. Ding
- C.Z. Xiao
- W.H Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6589-2738)
- R. Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2479-1260)
- C. Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1024-4306)
- Y. Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9529-1397)
- D. Meng
- L. Y. Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4468-7472)
- X Zhao
- J. Zheng
- W. Feng
- Z. Zhang
- J. N. Zhang
- Z. Y. Xie
- P. Yuan
- Z. A. Zhu
- H. R. Yin
- Q. Jia
- Y. Y. Yao
- T. Peng
- P. Wang
- S. M. Xu
- C. Wang
- J. Li
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2026-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/dywf-v5sf
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Science Challenge Project