Propagation of intense subpicosecond laser pulses through underdense plasmas

Journal Article · Mon Jun 05 00:00:00 EDT 1995 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4659· OSTI ID:69287

Coverdale, C A; Darrow, C B; Decker, C D ^[1]; Mori, W B; Tzeng, K; Marsh, K A; Clayton, C E; Joshi, C ^[2]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
2. Departments of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 (United States)

The propagation of an intense, subpicosecond laser pulse through a substantial length ({ital L}/{lambda}{similar_to}10{sup 3}) of an underdense plasma ({ital n}/{ital n}{sub {ital c}}{similar_to}1%) is studied through experiments and computer simulations. For {ital I}=8{times}10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2} only 55% of the incident laser light was transmitted through the plasma within the focal cone angle. The decrease in transmission was accompanied by Raman forward scattering as evidenced by the generation of anti-Stokes sidebands and up to 2 MeV electrons. Simulations show that the majority of the reduction in transmission could be due to Raman forward and side scattering.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48; FG03-92ER40727
• OSTI ID: 69287
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 74, Issue 23; Other Information: PBD: 5 Jun 1995
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION
PLASMA
WAVE PROPAGATION
LASERS
PULSES
SCATTERING
RAMAN EFFECT
SIMULATION
INSTABILITY