Investigation of plasma heating is of crucial importance because of its extensive applications including plasma preheating in inertial confinement fusion and magnetic confinement fusion. By propagation of a high-power ultra-short laser pulse through the underdense plasma, the plasma wave is excited in the longitudinal direction behind the laser pulse due to the laser pondermotive force. The laser energy is transferred to the plasma environment via the laser plasma interaction with the particles, so leading to plasma heating. By increasing the laser intensity or plasma density, the wave-breaking phenomenon occurs. The maximum plasma heating occurs in the wave-breaking amplitude. In this paper, the effects of applying a homogenous magnetic field on the plasma wave excited by the propagation of high-power ultra-short laser pulse in the plasma in the amplitudes below the wave-breaking amplitude is investigated, using the 2D PIC simulation method. The results show that the application of this field causes the excited wave to distort and break due to the phase-mixing phenomenon. Moreover, the simulation results show that by applying an inhomogeneous magnetic field, the wave-breaking effects appear sooner than the homogenous one. Therefore, in the moderate laser intensities and low plasma densities, it is possible to gain the maximum heating of plasma by applying the homogenous and inhomogeneous magnetic fields.

Higher worldwide research activities in the fields of nuclear fusion energy indicate the importance of developing such technology in Iran as well. On the other hand, the ambiguity regarding the justification and priority of investing in each of the methods of nuclear fusion is a universal challenge that is altimatlly common among nuclear fusion experts Iran too. The present research is aiming at presenting a coherent investigation that can be based on analytical and comparative analysis to achieve a rational prioritization among different methods of nuclear fusion. In this article, different nuclear fusion options are prioritized, using the experts’opinions through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); free from any personal judgments and influences. Furthermore, through Delphi method, 19 quality criteria related to different methods of nuclear fusion were classified based on mathematical logic, and based on the degree of importance and screenings, 13 criteria were finally selected. Then, using hierarchical analysis method and also through Expert Choice software, pairwise comparisons between criteria were performed to determine their coefficient of importance. In addition, pairwise comparisons were made between each of the criteria for each of the fusion methods. Finally, the strategic practical prioritization of three different nuclear fusion methods was quantitatively achieved as 0.415, 0.379, and 0.207, respectivly; for Iran.