The evolution of ultra-intense, short-pulse lasers in underdense plasmas
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
- Departments of Electrical Engineering and Physics, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024 (United States)
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089 (United States)
The propagation of short-pulse lasers through underdense plasmas at ultra-high intensities ({ital I}{ge}10{sup 19} W/cm) is examined. The pulse evolution is found to be significantly different than it is for moderate intensities. The pulse breakup is dominated by leading edge erosion and plasma wave wake formation rather than from Raman forward scattering type instabilities. A differential equation which describes local pump depletion is derived and used to analyze the formation and evolution of the erosion. Pulse erosion is demonstrated with one dimensional particle in cell (PIC) simulations. In addition, two dimensional simulations are presented which show pulse erosion along with other effects such as channeling and diffraction. Possible applications for plasma based accelerators and light sources are discussed. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- University of California
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG03-92ER40727; FG03-93ER40776
- OSTI ID:
- 282907
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 3; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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