Momentum absorption and magnetic field generation by obliquely incident light

Year: 2019

Authors: Macchi A., Grassi A., Amiranoff F., Riconda C.

Autors Affiliation: CNR, National Institute of Optics (INO), via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa, 56124, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Universita di Pisa, l.go Bruno Pontecorvo 3, Pisa, 56127, Italy; High Energy Density Science Division, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States; LULI-UPMC: Sorbonne Universitys, CNRS, Ycole Polytechnique, CEA, Paris, 75005, France

Abstract: The partial reflection of an electromagnetic (EM) wave from a medium leads to absorption of
momentum in the direction perpendicular to the surface (the standard radiation pressure) and, for oblique
incidence on a partially reflecting medium, also in the parallel direction. This latter component drives
a transverse current and a slowly growing, quasi-static magnetic field in the evanescence “skin” layer.
Through a simple model we illustrate how EM momentum is transfered to ions and estimate the value of
the magnetic field which may be of the order of the driving EM wave field, i.e. up to several hundreds of
megagauss for high-intensity laser-solid interactions.

Journal/Review: EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL PLUS

Volume: 134 (9)      Pages from: 420-1  to: 420-9

More Information: AG and CR acknowledge useful discussions with M. Grech. AG is supported by the U.S. DOE Early Career Research Program under FWP 100331.
KeyWords: laser-pulses, electromagnetic momentum, optical absorption, nonlinear optics, magnetic field generation, laser-plasma interactions
DOI: 10.1140/epjp/i2019-12802-0

Citations: 2
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