Observation of plasma density dependence of electromagnetic soliton excitation by an intense laser pulse

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3625261· OSTI ID:22043371

Sarri, G; Kar, S; Kourakis, I; Borghesi, M ^[1]; Romagnani, L ^[2]; Bulanov, S V ^[3]; Cecchetti, C A; Gizzi, L A ^[4]; Galimberti, M; Heathcote, R ^[5]; Jung, R; Osterholz, J; Willi, O ^[6]; Schiavi, A ^[7]

---

1. Centre for Plasma Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)
2. LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, route de Saclay, Palaiseau 91128 (France)
3. Kansai Photon Science Institute, JAEA, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215 (Japan)
4. IPCF, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR campus, Pisa (Italy)
5. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Central Laser Facility, Chilton OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
6. Institute for Laser and Plasma Physics, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf (Germany)
7. Dipartimento di Energetica, Universita di Roma 1 'La Sapienza', Roma (Italy)

The experimental evidence of the correlation between the initial electron density of the plasma and electromagnetic soliton excitation at the wake of an intense (10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}) and short (1 ps) laser pulse is presented. The spatial distribution of the solitons, together with their late time evolution into post-solitons, is found to be dependent upon the background plasma parameters, in agreement with published analytical and numerical findings. The measured temporal evolution and electrostatic field distribution of the structures are consistent with their late time evolution and the occurrence of multiple merging of neighboring post-solitons.

• OSTI ID: 22043371
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 18, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CORRELATIONS
ELECTRON DENSITY
EXCITATION
LASER RADIATION
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PULSES
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION