Ultra-high-pressure generation in the relativistic transparency regime in laser-irradiated nanowire arrays

We show that an ultra-high-pressure plasma can be generated when an aligned nanowire is irradiated by a laser with relativistic transparent intensity. Using a particle-in-cell simulation, we demonstrate that the expanded plasma following the z pinch becomes relativistically transparent and compressed longitudinally by the oscillating component of the ponderomotive force. The compressed structure persists throughout the pulse duration with a maximum pressure of 40 Tbar when irradiated with a laser at an intensity of 1023 W cm-2, 5x higher than the z-pinch pressure. These results suggest an alternative approach to extending the current attainable pressure in the laboratory.

Automated summary

We demonstrate the generation of an ultra-high-pressure plasma through the irradiation of a laser on an aligned nanowire. This plasma becomes relativistically transparent and compressed longitudinally by the oscillating component of the ponderomotive force. The maximum pressure reached is 40 Tbar, which is 5 times higher than the z-pinch pressure.