Recent work on laser produced plasmas is presented focusing on the theoretical studies of four topics which have been carried out at the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE), Osaka University, after a brief explanation of the six physics issues to be studied for plasma physics related to the laser fusion. The importance of integrated code development is emphasized and it is shown that the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the ablation front is reduced partly due to non-local electron transport. Non-uniformity of implosion dynamics is studied by comparing a two-dimensional simulation with a spectroscopic post-processing package. It is concluded that all the available experimental data are consistently explained. The fast-ignition with ultra-high power laser is studied. The ignition criteria are clarified with a two-dimensional burning wave simulation. The possibility to study astrophysics by designing model experiments with intense lasers is introduced. The computational design of models of the ejecta-ring collision of SN1987A is shown by comparing with the event in the space.
Relativistic laser–plasma bubbles: new sources of energetic particles and x-rays