First measurement of laser Wakefield oscillations by longitudinal interferometry

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/238564· OSTI ID:469072

Siders, C W ^[1]; Le Blanc, S P; Rau, B; Fisher, D; Tajima, T; Downer, M C ^[2]; Babine, A; Stepanov, A; Sergeev, A ^[3]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
2. Texas Univ., Austin, TX (United States). Dept. of Physics
3. Institute of Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation)

Because the electrostatic fields present in plasma waves can exceed those achievable in conventional accelerators and approach atomic scale values (E{sub a} {approximately} 500 GV/m), plasma based accelerators have received considerable attention as compact sources of high-energy electron pulses. Although stimulated Raman scattering or terahertz radiation at {ital w{sub p}} provided spatially averaged optical signatures of the plasma wave`s existence, new diagnostic techniques are required to map the the temporal and spatial structure of the plasma wave directly since such information is vital for addressing fundamental issues of wakefield generation and propagation. In this paper, we report femtosecond time resolved measurements of the longitudinal and radial structure of laser wakefield oscillations using an all optical technique known as interferometric ``photon acceleration`` or Longitudinal Interferometry.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 469072
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--97-535; CONF-9610210--15; ON: DE97004706
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
INTERFEROMETRY
OSCILLATION MODES
OSCILLATIONS
PLASMA WAVES
TIME RESOLUTION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS