Fluid modeling on three dimensional two plasmon decay instability and stimulated Raman scattering using FLAME-MD

Comprehensive simulations of laser plasma instabilities over large spatial and temporal scales in an ICF plasma is important to target design but challenging to perform. Fluid models can be a good candidate for their lower computational cost compared to particle-in-cell models. We continue to improve our 3D fluid code FLAME-MD based on the fluid-like equations. FLAME-MD is designed to simulate all types of LPIs including the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and the two-plasmon decay instability (TPD) simultaneously with a self-consistent laser propagation – pump depletion model. Now the SRS and TPD modules have been largely completed and benchmarked with previous codes LTS and Glints. The laser-polarization effect on TPD is simulated for ICF-relevant parameters using FLAME-MD. It is found that TPD with a circular-polarized laser has much lower growth rates than that with a linear-polarized laser given the same Poynting-flux of the two lasers, indicating a likely advantage using CP lasers as the ICF driver.