Effects of spatial beam coherence and plasma scale length on stimulated Raman scattering and two-plasmon decay

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We present an experimental investigation demonstrating that the suppression of parametric instabilities in laser-plasma interactions under conditions relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion, specifically backward stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and two-plasmon decay (TPD), shows the effects of spatial beam coherence and plasma-density scale length. Experiments were performed with the GEKKO-XII kilojoule laser, both with and without random phase plates. Results indicate that SRS suppression is enhanced under conditions of initial spatial incoherence, whereas TPD is influenced primarily by the plasma scale length. A comparison of the relationship between the SRS and TPD signals and hot-electron measurements suggests that TPD is the primary source of hot electrons across all experimental conditions. These findings underscore the importance of beam coherence in determining instability dominance and carry implications for mitigating hot-electron preheat in ignition-scale inertial-confinement implosions as well as for developing hot-electron-driven schemes such as shock ignition.