Neutron Production and Second-Harmonic Generation in Laser-Target Experiments

Experimentalists studying the interaction of strong electromagnetic radiation with plasma have reported scattered asymmetric lines with frequency 2ω₀. This line and the neutron yield are correlated as a function of the peak intensity on the plasma profile. I show how the observed correlations between the 2ω₀ radiation and the neutron production can be explained by considering parametrics and linear effects in an inhomogeneous plasma. Scattered radiation and neutron output are discussed.