October 6, 2023 Other Restricted Access

High Field Suppression of Bremsstrahlung Emission in High-Intensity Laser-Plasma Interactions

Habibi, Mahdi; Toncian, Toma

Project leader(s)

This dissertation investigates the effect of macroscopic electric and magnetic fields on bremsstrahlung emission in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions, specifically in the regime of relativistic-induced transparency. The Particle-in-Cell (PIC) EPOCH simulation code has been updated to incorporate a new suppression mechanism influenced by the presence of intense electric and magnetic fields. The study compared the bremsstrahlung emissions generated under relativistic transparency conditions using three distinct models: the original bremsstrahlung model in the EPOCH code, the model modified by the magnetic suppression (MS) effect, and the newly proposed suppression model by the electric and magnetic suppression (EMS) effect.
The results demonstrated that macroscopic electric and magnetic fields have a significant effect on the decrease of bremsstrahlung photons in laser-plasma interactions. In addition, differences in electron dynamics were observed between the EPOCH and EMS models, indicating that the suppression mechanism can influence the dynamics of electron acceleration. The study provides insight into bremsstrahlung emission under extreme conditions, where energetic electrons travel through a relativistically transparent plasma while being deflected by magnetic fields with MT-level strength.
On the basis of the results, it is suggested that the implementation of conventional bremsstrahlung in PIC codes be modified to account for the discussed suppression effect.