Role of Frequency Chirp and Energy Flow Directionality in the Strong Coupling Regime of Brillouin-Based Plasma Amplification

A detailed analysis is presented of the various stages of strong coupling Brillouin plasma amplification, emphasizing the importance of the chirp which can be of threefold origin: the intrinsic one driven by the amplification process, the one originating from the chirped-pulse-generated laser pulses, and the one associated with the plasma profile. Control of the overall chirp can optimize or quench the energy transfer. The time-dependent phase relation explains the energy flow direction during amplification and is characteristic for this strong coupling process. The study is also of potential importance to understand and maybe control cross-beam-energy transfer in inertial confinement fusion.