Electromagnetic pulses generated by high-power laser experiments

During high-power laser experiments, intense electromagnetic fields are produced. For future facilities, the field level is extrapolated from measurements performed on current experimental rooms. In the LMJ (Laser Mega Joule) target chamber with the high-power PETAL beam (Petawatt Aquitaine Laser), the expected field is about 1 MW/m for high laser intensity shots (higher than 1019 W/cm2). This is a harsh environment for electric equipments. For these short-pulse laser experiments, simulations show that electromagnetic pulses are due to charged particles emission during the shot, more exactly they are due to the resulting replacement currents that appear in the target chamber. This paper shows a simulation (with the numerical tool SOPHIE) of this phenomenon, in good agreement with experimental data from Titan and Omega-EP facilities. (authors)