Spatial-temporal measurements of magnetic fields in laser-produced plasmas

The results of an investigation of the electromagnetic wave polarization, probing high-temperature laser plasma, as well as spatial-temporal structure of the magnetic fields, electron density, current density, and electron drift velocity are presented. To create the plasma, plane massive Al targets were irradiated with the second harmonic of a phoenix Nd laser at intensities up to 5·10¹⁴ W/cm². It was shown that the magnetooptical Faraday effect is the main mechanism responsible for the changing polarization of the probing wave. Magnetic fields up to 0.4 MG with electron densities ∼10²⁰ cm⁻³ were measured. Analysis of the magnetic field spatial distribution showed that the current density achieved the value ∼90 MA/cm² on the laser axis. The radial structure of the magnetic field testified to the availability of the reversed current in the laser plasma. The spatial and temporal resolutions in these experiments were equaled to ∼5 μsec and ∼50 psec, respectively. Translated from Preprint No. 35 of the Lebedev Physics Institute, Moscow, 1993.     

Double-line terawatt OPCPA laser system for exciting beat wave oscillations

A double-line terawatt beat laser (BEAT) is developed for exciting beat wave oscillations. BEAT consists of two oscillators and an amplification system including optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) in which two individual pulses with wavelength separations of 10–35 nm are amplified, recompressed, and focused as a single beam. The recompressed pulse trace shows that a 150-fs pulse duration full width at half maximum was modulated at a beating period of 72 fs. This beating period matches a resonant excitation of plasma wave with an electron density of 2.5 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3, resulting in excitation of a beat wave in hydrogen plasma with wave amplitude of 15 GV/m. The multiple beating oscillations can amplify the plasma wave and improve its structure. This scheme would be ideal for stabilizing the plasma wave strength in the plasma cavity and for realizing a practical laser plasma accelerator.     

High-power relativistic microwave sources based on the backward wave oscillator with a modulating resonant reflector

Results of theoretical and experimental investigations into a relativistic backward wave oscillator with a modulating resonant reflector are generalized. The modulating resonant reflector is used to reflect a counter propagating wave and guide it toward an electron collector. It is shown that premodulation of the electron beam near the reflector may have a significant effect on the starting conditions of oscillation; selective properties of the oscillator; and its efficiency, which may reach 40% when a high-current beam is transported by a strong magnetic field. In the reduced magnetic fields that were employed in the pulsed-periodic regime and were 1.5–2.0 times lower than those at which cyclotron resonance with the counter propagating wave is observed, the oscillator efficiency (30–35% at a wavelength of 8 mm) is limited by position and velocity spreads of particles. Mechanical pulsewise frequency tuning within about 10% at a repetition rate of 1–50 Hz and a multigigawatt microwave power, as well as a rise in the power and energy of microwave pulses via an increase in the cross-sectional dimensions of the slow-wave structure, are demonstrated to be feasible.     

对超热电子诱生的磁场分布的估算

利用简化模型估算了电荷分离场及由超热电子逃逸在等离子体表面产生的自生磁场的大小和空间分布.受电荷分离场的影响以及超热电子逃逸数的限制,超热电子产生的环形磁场主要分布于等离子体表面附近的焦斑半径内,仅当超热电子束流很强时(在1μm半径截面内达到10³A量级),环形磁场才可以达到10²T量级.一般情况下,由超热电子产生的磁场极小. 关键词： 磁场 超热电子     

Study of atomic spectral lines in a magnetic field with use of a nanocell with the thickness <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis> = λ

We propose a technique which we call “L = λ Zeeman technique” (LZT) for investigation of the transitions between the Zeeman sublevels of the hfs structure of alkali metal atoms in external magnetic fields. The technique is based on the employment of a nanocell with the thickness of the Rb atom vapor column equal to the wavelength of the laser radiation, 780 nm, resonant with the atomic rubidium D₂ transition. At the laser intensities of about 1 mW/cm² in the transmission spectrum of the nanocell narrow (～ 30 MHz) resonant peaks of reduced absorption appear localized exactly on the atomic transitions. In magnetic fields these peaks are split and their amplitudes and frequency positions depend on the magnetic field strength. The theoretical model well describes the experimental results.     

Resonance Compton scattering in an external magnetic field

The scattering of a photon by an electron in an external magnetic field under resonant conditions, when the photon energy is close to the splittings between the Landau levels, is investigated. Formulas are obtained for the cross section of the process taking account of the polarization of the electron. For external fields ～10¹² G the resonant Compton cross section is several orders of magnitude greater than the Thompson cross section, and the width of the resonance is tens of electron volts.     

Cyclotron mechanism of electron acceleration in subpicosecond laser plasma

The effect of ultrastrong magnetic fields generated in a relativistic-intensity subpicosecond laser plasma on the acceleration of fast electrons was studied. It is shown that resonance electrons can continuously accumulate energy from the circularly polarized laser field in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field. For the linear polarization and a transverse magnetic field, energy accumulation has a pulse-periodic character, and the electron trajectories correspond to electron rotation in the Larmor orbit in a quasi-stationary magnetic field, while the energy strongly oscillates. In both cases, electron energy may attain values higher than 100 MeV for intensities of 10²⁰ W/cm².     

Polarization effects during the interaction of counterpropagating waves in isotropic resonant media

Using the method of nonlinear polarization spectroscopy in the oppositely propagating laser beams of different power at a wavelength of 3.39 μm, we study, both theoretically and experimentally, the mechanisms of the formation of dichroism and birefringence during the interaction of arbitrarily polarized fields of resonant radiation with gaseous methane under conditions of low pressure of the gas in the cell and saturation of the operating transition F ₂ ⁽²⁾ by the field of a strong wave. Spectral forms of the polarization resonances of the test-wave intensity at the output of the polarization spectrometer are studied experimentally. Based on the vector theory of light interaction with matter, we present an exhaustive theoretical interpretation of the experimental data on the dependence of the polarization state of a weak wave on the intensity of a linearly or circularly polarized high-power counterpropagating wave. A new technique of measuring the induced nonlinear anisotropy for test-field waves and the macroscopic parameters of the resonant gas is developed. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 72–93, January 2007.     

Amplification of light during the scattering of a relativistic electron by a nucleus in a moderately strong field of a circularly polarized light wave

The amplification (attenuation) factor of an electromagnetic wave during the scattering of a relativistic electron by a nucleus in a moderately strong field of a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave is studied theoretically. The effect of amplification of an electromagnetic field is discovered in a certain interval of polar angles of the incident electron; this interval of angles essentially depends on the electron energy and the field intensity. It is shown that the amplification of a field attains its maximum for nonrelativistic electrons in the range of medium fields. As the electron energy increases, the amplification decreases and vanishes for ultrarelativistic electrons. An increase in the field intensity for a given electron energy also leads to a slow decrease in the amplification of a field. At high intensities of the wave, the effect of amplification vanishes. It is shown that, in the range of optical frequencies for medium fields (F ～ 10⁶V/cm), the amplification factor of laser light may amount to about μ ～ 10^?1 cm^?1 for sufficiently high-power electron beams.     

自由电子激光放大器的理论分析

本文从单粒子模型出发,对自由电子激光放大器在小信号情形下的工作机理与参量特性进行了比较详细的分析与讨论,结果表明自由电子激光放大器实质上是电子束与快迴旋波的相互作用,而电子在轴向均匀静磁场及横向周期静磁场中运动的迴旋谐振条件对这种相互作用有重大的影响,本文对放大器的参量(如电子束的电压和电流密度、轴向及横向静磁场强度、横向静磁场波长等)与放大器的中心工作频率、放大带宽、小信号增益和放大电磁波的波数的关系进行了数值计算,并指出了最佳设计的途径,经过适当设计,自由电子激光放大器的小信号增益达到10^-2厘米^-1或1米的e倍距离并有足够的带宽是不难的。 关键词：     

Langmuir Probe Diagnostics of a Low Temperature Non-Isothermal Plasma in a Weak Magnetic Field

This article presents measurements by a cylindrical Langmuir probe in the plasma of a DC cylindrical magnetron discharge át the pressure 1.5 Pa that aim at the experimental assessment of the influence of a weak magnetic field to the estimation of the electron density when using conventional methods of probe data interpretation. The probe data was obtained under the presence of a weak magnetic field in the range 1.10^?2?5.10^?2 T. The influence of the magnetic field on the electron probe current is experimentally assessed for two cylindrical probes with different radii, 50 μm and 21 μm. This assessment is based on comparison of the values of the electron density estimated from the electron current part with the values of the positive ion density estimated from the positive ion current part of the probe characteristic respectively by assuming that at the magnetic field strengths used in the present study the probe positive ion currents are possible to be assumed as uninfluenced by the magnetic field. For interpretation of the probe positive ion current two theories are used and compared to each other: the radial motion model by Allen, Boyd and Reynolds [10] and Chen [11] and the model that accounts for the collisions of positive ions with neutrals in the probe space charge sheath that we call Chen-Talbot model [8]. At lower magnetic field 3 · 10^?2 T the positive ion density values interpreted by using the Chen-Talbot model [8] are in better agreement with the values of electron density compared to those obtained by using the theory [10,11]; therefore the model [8] is used for calculation of the positive ion density from the probe data at higher magnetic fields. The comparison of the positive ion and electron density values calculated from the same probe data at higher magnetic fields shows that up to the magnetic field strength 4 . 10^?2 T with the probe 100 μm and up to 5 . 10^?2 T with the probe 42 μm in diameter respectively the decrease of the magnitude of the electron current at the space potential due to the magnetic field does not exceed the error limits that are usual for Langmuir probe measurements (absolute error ±20%).     

Helical Cerenkov effect, a novel radiation source

The observability of the helical Cerenkov effect as a novel radiation source is discussed. Depending on the value of the index of refraction of the medium, the strength of the uniform magnetic field, and the electron beam energy, helical Cerenkov radiation can occur in the same spectral regions as the ordinary Cerenkov effect, that is, from microwave to visible wavelengths. From the kinematics point of view, I argue that for a microwave wavelength of 10^-1cm this effect should be observable in a medium with an index of refraction of 1.4, with a beam energy of 3 MeV, and a uniform magnetic field of 4 T. On the specific level, however, for the sake of simplicity, I discuss the observability of this effect for visible light with the central wavelength of 5×10^-5 cm which can be achieved with 2 MeV in beam energy, silica aerogel as a medium (with an index of refraction of 1.075), and uniform magnetic fields from 5 to 10 T. For a 10-T magnetic field, I calculate that in the visible region of 250 to 750 nm an electron will produce a photon per 10 cm of traveled length. As to the stimulated helical Cerenkov emission, I estimate that respectable gains are possible even if the beam passes close to the dielectric rather than through it. In addition to being potentially a new radiation source, the helical Cerenkov effect could possibly be used as a detector of radiation by energetic electrons that are trapped in a medium by strong magnetic fields     

Laser wake field acceleration: the highly non-linear broken-wave regime

We use three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to study laser wake field acceleration (LWFA) at highly relativistic laser intensities. We observe ultra-short electron bunches emerging from laser wake fields driven above the wave-breaking threshold by few-cycle laser pulses shorter than the plasma wavelength. We find a new regime in which the laser wake takes the shape of a solitary plasma cavity. It traps background electrons continuously and accelerates them. We show that 12-J, 33-fs laser pulses may produce bunches of 3×10¹⁰ electrons with energy sharply peaked around 300 MeV. These electrons emerge as low-emittance beams from plasma layers just 700-μm thick. We also address a regime intermediate between direct laser acceleration and LWFA, when the laser-pulse duration is comparable with the plasma period. Received: 12 December 2001 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Signatures of the Unruh effect via high-power, short-pulse lasers

The ultra-high fields of high-power short-pulse lasers are expected to contribute to understanding fundamental properties of the quantum vacuum and quantum theory in very strong fields. For example, the neutral QED vacuum breaks down at the Schwinger field strength of 1.3×10¹⁸ V/m, where a virtual e⁺e^- pair gains its rest mass energy over a Compton wavelength and materializes as a real pair. At such an ultra-high field strength, an electron experiences an acceleration of a_S=2×10²⁸g and hence fundamental phenomena such as the long predicted Unruh effect start to play a role. The Unruh effect implies that the accelerated electron experiences the vacuum as a thermal bath with the Unruh temperature. In its accelerated frame the electron scatters photons off the thermal bath, corresponding to the emission of an entangled pair of photons in the laboratory frame. While it remains an experimental challenge to reach the critical Schwinger field strength within the immediate future even in view of the enormous thrust in high-power laser developments in recent years, the near-future laser technology may allow to probe the signatures of the Unruh effect mentioned above. Using a laser-accelerated electron beam (γ～300) and a counter-propagating laser beam acting as optical undulator should allow to create entangled Unruh photon pairs (i.e., signatures of the Unruh effect) with energies of the order of several hundred keV. An even substantially improved experimental scenario can be realized by using a brilliant 20 keV photon beam as X-ray undulator together with a low-energy (γ≈2) electron beam. In this case the separation of the Unruh photon pairs from background originating from linearly accelerated electrons (classical Larmor radiation) is significantly improved. Detection of the Unruh photons may be envisaged by Compton polarimetry in a 2D-segmented position-sensitive germanium detector.     

Measuring magnetic fields in plasmas by means of light scattering

The theory of light scattering in plasmas containing a magnetic field yields the special case of modulated scattering spectra. The modulation frequency is governed by the field in the plasma and is equal to the electron cyclotron frequency. In this investigation magnetic fields in a plasma were determined by a laser scattering experiment. The experimental data were: electron densityn _e=10¹⁶cm^?3, electron temperatureT _e=3.2 eV, scattering angle θ=90 °, scattering parameter α=0.6, and a maximum field in the plasma of 125 kG. The spectrum measured at the maximum magnetic field was modulated with 3.6 × 10¹¹ Hz. In scattering experiments with a field reduced by about 20% the observed modulation frequency was 2.8 × 10¹¹ Hz. A thermal spectrum with a smooth profile was found when no field was present in the plasma. Applying the theory of cyclotron modulated spectra one obtains from the scattering experiment magnetic fields of 128, 100, and 0 kG. Within the experimental accuracy these values agree well with the fields determined by means of magnetic probes. Other possible interpretations of the measured deviations from thermal spectra (modulation with the plasma frequency or additional cold electron components in the plasma) are discussed, but they afford no explanation. This experiment has domonstrated that magnetic fields in plasmas can be measured locally and almost without disturbance by means of light scattering.     

Initiation of a detonation wave by resonant laser radiation in a hydrogen-oxygen mixture flowing about a wedge

The formation of an oblique detonation wave in a supersonic hydrogen-oxygen flow about a planar wedge is considered. It is shown that the excitation of the electronic state b ¹Σ _g ⁺ in oxygen molecules by resonant laser radiation with a wavelength of 762 nm makes it possible to initiate detonation combustion at a distance of ≈1 m from the tip of the wedge at low temperatures (500–600 K). Notably, it suffices to irradiate the gas in the narrow (0.5–1.0 cm across) paraxial region of the flow near the tip of the wedge. It is found that the laser-induced excitation of molecular oxygen is several times more efficient than ordinary heating of the mixture to initiate a detonation wave.     

Propagation regimes of intense circularly polarized laser beam in magnetoactive plasma

This paper presents an analytical and numerical investigation of an intense circularly polarized wave propagating along the static magnetic field parallel to oscillating magnetic field in magnetoactive plasma. In the relativistic regime such a magnetic field is created by pulse itself. The authors have studied different regimes of propagation with relativistic electron mass effect for magnetized plasma. An appropriate expression for dielectric tensor in relativistic magnetoactive plasma has been evaluated under paraxial theory. Two modes of propagation as extraordinary and ordinary exist; because of the relativistic effect, ultra-strong magnetic fields are generated which significantly influence the propagation of laser beam in plasma. The nature of propagation is characterized through the critical-divider curves in the normalized beam width with power plane For given values of normalized density (ω_p/ω) and magnetic field (ω_c/ω) the regions are namely steady divergence (SD), oscillatory divergence (OD) and self-focusing (SF). Numerical computations are performed for typical parameters of relativistic laser-plasma interaction: magnetic field B = 10-100 MG; intensity I = 10¹⁶ to 10²⁰ W/cm²; laser frequency ω = 1.1 × 10¹⁵ s⁻¹; cyclotron frequency ω_c = 1.7 × 10¹³ s⁻¹; electron density n_e = 2.18 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³. From the calculations, we confirm that a circularly polarized wave can propagate in different regimes for both the modes, and explicitly indicating enhancement in wave propagation, beam focusing/self-guiding and penetration of E-mode in presence of magnetic field.     

Resonant scattering of a lepton by a lepton in the pulsed light field

The process of resonant scattering of a lepton by a lepton in the field of pulsed light wave in general relativistic case is studied theoretically. The approximation when a pulsewidth is considerably greater than the characteristic time of wave oscillation is considered. The analytical expression for the resonant differential cross-section of concerned process is derived within the framework of the first order of the perturbation theory with respect to external laser field; it contains the resonant peak, the altitude and the width of which are defined by the external pulsed wave characteristics. It is demonstrated, that the resonant differential cross-section of scattering of an electron by an electron (an electron by a positron, an electron by a muon) in the pulsed light field may be several orders of magnitude greater than the corresponding one in the external field absence. The derived results may be verified experimentally for example by scientific facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.     

Faraday effect in Tb3Ga5O12 in a rapidly increasing ultrastrong magnetic field

The Faraday effect is measured in paramagnetic terbium gallate garnet Tb₃Ga₅O₁₂ at a wavelength λ=0.63 μm at 6 K in pulsed magnetic fields up to 75 T increasing at a rate of 10⁷ T/s for field orientation along the crystallographic direction 〈110〉. The experimental data are compared with the results of theoretical calculations taking into account the crystal fields acting on the Tb³⁺ ion and various contributions to the Faraday rotation. Since the measurements in pulsed fields are carried out in the adiabatic regime, the dependence of the sample temperature on the magnetic field acting during a current pulse is obtained from the comparison of the experimental dependence of Faraday rotation with the theoretically calculated dependences of the Faraday effect under isothermal conditions at various temperatures. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 44, No. 11, 2002, pp. 2013–2017. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2002 by Levitin, Zvezdin, Ortenberg, Platonov, Plis, Popov, Puhlmann, Tatsenko.     

强激光与高密度气体相互作用中电子和离子加速的数值模拟

在现有的一维粒子模拟程序的基础上发展了带光电离和碰撞电离及蒙特卡罗两体碰撞的模拟程序(1D PIC-MCC). 用此程序模拟研究了短脉冲激光与He气靶相互作用时电子和离子的加速过程. 研究表明当强激光与过临界密度的微米厚度的平面靶相互作用时，靶前表面物质将被激光脉冲前沿迅速离化；新生的电子被激光场有质动力加速成为高能电子，这些电子穿入到靶内，通过电子碰撞电离离化靶内物质；一部分高能电子穿透靶后，会在靶的后表面形成强的电荷分离场，该场迅速离化靶后表面物质，同时使得后表面离子得到加速. 部分穿透靶的超热电子将被电荷分离场重新拉回靶内，在靶的前后表面振荡. 一些振荡电子在此过程中得到电荷分离场加速，离开前表面，在前表面也形成电荷分离场，使前表面离子得到加速. 关键词： 激光等离子体 光电离和碰撞电离 电子加速 离子加速