Work

Effects of an external magnetic field on hot electron transport in the shock ignition scheme

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The presented experiment aims to investigate the effects of applying an external magnetic field on laser–target interaction, hot electron generation and propagation in the target, and ultimately on the shock dynamics. The magnetic field strength was set at 20 T, which is sufficient to divert hot electrons and hinder their propagation toward a copper fluor layer. The experiment yielded a non-intuitive result, showing an equal or higher K α ${}_{\alpha }$ Subscript alpha emission from the magnetized target compared with the unmagnetized one. Through extensive analysis using magnetohydrodynamics, particle-in-cell (PIC) and hybrid-PIC simulations, we found that a possible explanation is an increase in the average hot electron energy in the presence of the magnetic field. This higher energy allows the hot electrons to reach the fluor layer and produce a K α ${}_{\alpha }$ Subscript alpha yield comparable to that of the unmagnetized target.

Source: High Power Laser Science and Engineering

DOI: 10.1017/hpl.2026.10172