Electron Acceleration and the Propagation of Ultrashort High-Intensity Laser Pulses in Plasmas

Journal Article · Mon Jun 05 00:00:00 EDT 2000 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.5324· OSTI ID:20216796

Wang, Xiaofang; Krishnan, Mohan; Saleh, Ned; Wang, Haiwen; Umstadter, Donald

Reported are interactions of high-intensity laser pulses ({lambda}=810 nm and I{<=}3x10{sup 18} W /cm{sup 2} ) with plasmas in a new parameter regime, in which the pulse duration ({tau}=29 fs ) corresponds to 0.6-2.6 plasma periods. Relativistic filamentation is observed to cause laser-beam breakup and scattering of the beam out of the vacuum propagation angle. A beam of megaelectronvolt electrons with divergence angle as small as 1 degree sign is generated in the forward direction, which is correlated to the growth of the relativistic filamentation. Raman scattering, however, is found to be much less than previous long-pulse results. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.

• OSTI ID: 20216796
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 84, Issue 23; Other Information: PBD: 5 Jun 2000; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
PLASMA ACCELERATION
LASER RADIATION
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
RELATIVISTIC PLASMA
PULSED IRRADIATION
PONDEROMOTIVE FORCE
RAMAN EFFECT
EXPERIMENTAL DATA