Magnetic field generation from a coil-shaped foil by a laser-triggered hot-electron current

Abstract

A strong electron current triggered by a femtosecond relativistically intense laser pulse in a foil coil-like target is shown to be able to generate a solenoidal-type extremely strong magnetic field. The magnetic field lifetime sufficiently exceeds the laser pulse duration and is defined mainly by the target properties. The process of the magnetic field generation was studied with 3D PIC simulations. It is demonstrated that the pulse and the target parameters allow controlling the field strength and duration. The scheme studied is of great importance for laser-based magnetization technologies.