Stimulated Raman scattering in the relativistic regime in near-critical plasmas

Interaction of a high intensity short laser pulse with near-critical plasmas allows to achieve extremely high coupling efficiency and transfer laser energy to energetic ions. One dimensional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations are considered to detail the processes involved in the energy transfer. A confrontation of the numerical results with the theory highlights a key role played by the process of stimulated Raman scattering in the relativistic regime. The interaction of a 1 ps laser pulse (I $\sim$ 6.10$^{18}$ W.cm$^2$) with an under-critical (0.5 $n_c$) homogeneous plasma leads to a very high plasma absorption reaching 68 % of the laser pulse energy. This permits a homogeneous electron heating all along the plasma and an efficient ion acceleration at the plasma edges and in cavities.