Weibel instability-mediated collisionless shocks in laser-irradiated dense plasmas:Prevailing role of the electrons in the turbulence generation

Abstract: We present a particle-in-cell simulation of the generation of a collisionless turbulent shock in a dense plasma driven by an ultra-high-intensity laser pulse. From the linear analysis, we highlight the crucial role of the laser-heated and return-current electrons in triggering a strong Weibel-like instability, giving rise to a magnetic turbulence able to isotropize the target ions.