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Yue, Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Yue, Liu.

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Ultra-bright XUV emission from laser wakefields in underdense plasma

By use of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation, we observe ultra-bright XUV radiation pulses emerging from a laser wakefield driven above the wave-breaking threshold in underdense plasma, which is as short as a few hundred attoseconds in one-dimentsional simulations and a few femtoseconds in two-dimensional simulations. It is concerned with the formation of a transverse narrow current layer co-moving with the intense laser pulse. This current layer is formed by an electron density spike with trapped electrons in the wakefield with certain transverse kinetic momentum of electrons left behind the laser pulse. This net momentum appears when the driving laser pulse undergoes strong selfmodulation and subsequent pulse steepening at the front. In the multi-dimensional simulations, the XUV emission is found only near the laser axis with a much smaller spot size than the laser pulse due to the transverse dynamics of the trapped electrons. The present scheme provides an alternative method to produce ultra-bright XUV pulses for ultrafast applications.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Upper limit power for self-guided propagation of intense lasers in plasma

It is shown that there is an upper-limit laser power for self-focusing of a laser pulse in plasma in addition to the well-known lower-limit critical power set by the relativistic effect. This upper limit is caused by the transverse ponderomotive force of the laser, which tends to expel plasma electrons from the laser propagating area. Furthermore, there is a lower-limit plasma density for a given laser spot size, below which self-focusing does not occur for any laser power. Both the lower-limit density and the upper-limit power are derived theoretically and verified by two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is also found that plasma channels may be unfavorable for stable guiding of lasers above the upper-limit power.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Effect of electron density profile on power absorption of high frequency electromagnetic waves in plasma

Considering different typical electron density profiles, a multi slab approximation model is built up to study the power absorption of broadband (0.75-30 GHz) electromagnetic waves in a partially ionized nonuniform magnetized plasma layer. Based on the model, the power absorption spectra for six cases are numerically calculated and analyzed. It is shown that the absorption strongly depends on the electron density fluctuant profile, the background electron number density, and the collision frequency. A potential optimum profile is also analyzed and studied with some particular parameters.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dispersion relations of externally and thermally excited dust lattice modes in 2D complex plasma crystals

The dispersion relations of the externally and thermally (naturally) excited dust lattice modes (both longitudinal and transverse) in two-dimensional Debye-Yukawa complex plasma crystals are investigated. The dispersion relations are calculated numerically by taking the neutral gas damping effects into account and the numerical results are in agreement with the experimental data given by Nunomura et al.[Phys. Rev. E 65, 066402 (2002)]. It is found that for the mode excited by an external disturbance with a real frequency, the dispersion properties are changed at a critical frequency near where the group velocity of the mode goes to zero. Therefore, the high frequency branch with negative dispersion cannot be reached. In contrast, for the thermally excited mode, the dispersion curve can extend all the way to the negative dispersion region, while a 'cut-off' wave number exists at the long wavelength end of the dispersion in the transverse mode.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗