Tracking propagation of ultrashort intense laser pulses in gases via probing of ionization

Journal Article · Fri May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Print)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVE.79.056405· OSTI ID:21294123

Gizzi, L A; Betti, S; Giulietti, A; Giulietti, D; Labate, L; Levato, T; Tomassini, P ^[1]; Galimberti, M ^[1]; Monot, P; Ceccotti, T; De Oliveira, P; Martin, Ph ^[2]

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1. Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, IPCF-Area della Ricerca CNR, Via Moruzzi, 1 56124 Pisa (Italy)
2. Physique a Haute Intensite, CEA-DSM/DRECAM/SPAM, Bat. 522 p. 148, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France)

We use optical interferometry to study the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in gases. We show the measurements of propagation in a nitrogen gas jet and we compare the results with propagation in He under the same irradiation conditions. We find that in the case of nitrogen, the detailed temporal structure of the laser pulse can be tracked and visualized by measuring the phase and the resulting electron-density map. A dramatically different behavior occurs in He gas jets, where no details of the temporal structure of the laser pulse are visible. These observations are explained in terms of the ionization dynamics of nitrogen compared to helium. These circumstances make N{sub 2} gas sensitive to variations in the electric field and, therefore, allow the laser-pulse temporal and spatial structures to be visualized in detail.

• OSTI ID: 21294123
• Journal Information: Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Print), Journal Name: Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Print) Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 79; ISSN 1539-3755
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON DENSITY
HELIUM
INTERFEROMETRY
IONIZATION
IRRADIATION
LASERS
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
NITROGEN
PLASMA
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PULSES
VISIBLE RADIATION