Influence of electrostatic and magnetic fields on hot electron emission in ultra-intense laser matter interactions

We studied the influence of electrostatic and magnetic fields at the rear surface of solid targets on the hot electron emission generated by ultra-intense laser pulses. The number of emitted electrons increases in experiments when a pre-plasma is created on the target rear surface. The formation of the electrostatic potential is clearly retarded in particle-in-cell simulations resulting in the elongation of time window for hot electron emission. The increase in the number of electrons is consistent with the Alfven current within the elongated time window. (author)