Parametric excitation of surface plasma waves in an overdense plasma irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-110016 (India)
A high power laser, obliquely incident on a vacuum-plasma interfac,e (x=0), resonantly drives plasma oscillations at the second harmonic when 2{omega}{sub 0}={omega}{sub p}, where {omega}{sub p} is the plasma frequency and {omega}{sub 0} is the frequency of the laser. The plasma oscillations parametrically excite a pair of counterpropagating surface plasma waves ({omega},k{sub z}) and ({omega}{sub 1},k{sub 1z}) when {omega}={omega}{sub 1}-2{omega}{sub 0}, k{sub z}=k{sub 1z}-2k{sub 0z}, where k{sub 0z} is the component of the incident laser wave vector parallel to the interface. The growth rate is maximum for normal incidence of the laser and decreases with the angle of incidence. In a mildly relativistic case, the relativistic mass variation of plasma electrons and collisions detune the second harmonic resonance, lowering the growth rate.
- OSTI ID:
- 21062039
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 14, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2779874; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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