Investigating Self-Induced Relativistic Transparency in Plasmas with Ultrafast High Intensity Laser Pulses

We model high intensity laser plasma interactions on thin film and solid targets in the self-induced relativistic transparency (RT) regime using 2D OSIRIS 4.0 particle-in-cell simulations. Intense laser fields produce relativistic electrons such that the critical density is increased and laser fields can penetrate and interact with the dense plasma regions, potentially affecting the electron heating mechanisms and efficiency. In preparation for our upcoming LaserNetUS experiment at the Scarlet Laser Facility, we model a 30 fs, 800 nm wavelength pulse with the normalized field strength a₀ varied between 1 and 50. The solid target was modeled after 8CB liquid crystal (4-N-octyl-cyanobiphenyl, C₂₁H₂₆N). Different initial target density profiles were considered to model a pre-expanded target, while conserving the areal density for 8CB and varying the target thicknesses from 30 to 200 nm. An analysis of the data will study the transmitted and reflected laser characteristics, and electron heating.