Laser hosing in relativistically hot plasmas
G. Li, W. B. Mori, and C. Ren
Accepted
Electron response in an intense laser is studied in the regime where the electron temperature is relativistic. Equations for laser envelope and plasma density evolution, both in the electron plasma wave and ion acoustic wave regimes, are re-derived from the relativistic fluid equations to include relativistic plasma temperature effect. These equations are used to study short-pulse and long-pulse laser hosing instabilities using a variational method approach. The analysis shows that relativistic electron temperatures reduce the hosing growth rates and shift the fastest-growing modes to longer wavelengths. These results resolve a long-standing discrepancy between previous non-relativistic theory and simulations/experiments on hosing.