Electron Heat Flow with Inverse Bremsstrahlung and Ion Motion

Abstract

Laser-plasma interaction has been numerically simulated with a Fokker-Planck code, including inverse-bremsstrahlung absorption and ion motion. The results were compared with the hydrocode LILAC, with adjustable flux limiter $f$. The coronal temperature and density profile agree with $f=0.15$, but heat penetration into the cold dense plasma is better fitted by $f=0.08$. Thus, there is still a factor of 3 to 5 to be explained between classical kinetic theory and the usual ad hoc value $f=0.03$.