Konstantin Zsukovszkij (2026.03.01 - 2026.09.30)

Abstract: The proposed research aims to simulate the interaction between nanoplasmonic gold nanoantenna structures and ultra-intense laser pulses in a high-resolution, GPU-accelerated particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation using the EPOCH code. The calculations examine the physical mechanisms of highly non-equilibrium laser-matter interactions in the intensity range of \(10^{17}–10^{19}\) W/cm\(^2\), with particular emphasis on local field enhancement, electron emission, charge separation, and proton acceleration in hydrogen-rich media. The study includes several antenna geometries (dipoles, cross- and Yagi-like structures, and antenna pairs with varying distances) to explore the role of geometry in energy localization and particle acceleration efficiency.

The GPU-based computational infrastructure enables nanometer spatial resolution and the use of large numbers of macroparticles, which is essential for accurately describing extreme spatial gradients and fast time scales. The results of the simulations are post-processed using Python-based data evaluation, including analysis of space and energy density distributions, proton energy spectra, and the temporal evolution of electron depletion and plasmonic field dynamics. Reference simulations were also performed in an antenna-free configuration, providing a quantitative basis for separating nanoantenna-induced effects from conventional laser-plasma interactions. The presented calculations have already yielded several new physical results, including the detection of local field concentration induced by nanoantenna geometries and an increase in proton energy by several orders of magnitude compared to the case without antennas. The proposed use of GPU resources will serve to continue the calculations, perform parameter studies, and further validate the published results, contributing to the physical understanding and optimization of nanoengineered laser targets.