Propagation of the high power laser pulse in multicomponent cluster targets

We present the results of 3D PIC and 2D PIC simulations of the ultra short high irradiance laser pulse interaction with targets where the plasma containing multicomponent cluster targets and multicluster cloud is imbedded in an underdense plasma. In both cases the laser radiation expels the electrons from the clusters and ejects them into the wake plasma wave generated by the ultrashort laser pulse in the underdense plasma. This provides a novel mechanism for the electron injection into the wake field for acceleration.     

Ion acceleration by superintense laser pulses in plasmas

Ion acceleration by petawatt laser radiation in underdense and overdense plasmas is studied with 2D3V-PIC (Particle in Cell) numerical simulations. These simulations show that the laser pulse drills a channel through the plasma slab, and electrons and ions expand in vacuum. Fast electrons escape first from the electron-ion cloud. Later, ions gain a high energy on account of the Coulomb explosion of the cloud and the inductive electric field which appears due to fast change of the magnetic field generated by the laser pulse. Similarly, when a superintense laser pulse interacts with a thin slab of overdense plasma, its ponderomotive pressure blows all the electrons away from a finite-diameter spot on the slab. Then, due to the Coulomb explosion, ions gain an energy as high as 1 GeV. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 2, 80–86 (25 July 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Plasma ion evolution in the wake of a high-intensity ultrashort laser pulse

Experimental investigations of the late-time ion structures formed in the wake of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse propagating in a tenuous plasma have been performed using the proton imaging technique. The pattern found in the wake of the laser pulse shows unexpectedly regular modulations inside a long, finite width channel. On the basis of extensive particle in cell simulations of the plasma evolution in the wake of the pulse, we interpret this pattern as due to ion modulations developed during a two-stream instability excited by the return electric current generated by the wakefield.     

Anticorrelation between ion acceleration and nonlinear coherent structures from laser-underdense plasma interaction

In laser-plasma experiments, we observed that ion acceleration from the Coulomb explosion of the plasma channel bored by the laser is prevented when multiple plasma instabilities, such as filamentation and hosing, and nonlinear coherent structures (vortices or postsolitons) appear in the wake of an ultrashort laser pulse. The tailoring of the longitudinal plasma density ramp allows us to control the onset of these instabilities. We deduced that the laser pulse is depleted into these structures in our conditions, when a plasma at about 10% of the critical density exhibits a gradient on the order of 250 μm (Gaussian fit), thus hindering the acceleration. A promising experimental setup with a long pulse is demonstrated enabling the excitation of an isolated coherent structure for polarimetric measurements and, in further perspectives, parametric studies of ion plasma acceleration efficiency.     

Control of the clustering process in molecular beams using IR lasers

The prebreakdown stage of a gas discharge in a diode with strongly overloaded cathode is studied by laser methods (by simultaneous use of multiframe interferometry and shadow and schlieren photographing) at atmospheric pressure. The spatial resolution of the methods is about 20 μm. A probing pulse of a laser (LS-2151 Nd: YAG laser with a half amplitude duration of 70 ps and a pulse energy of up to 40 mJ) is synchronized with a voltage pulse with accuracy of about 1 ns. High field strength at the cathode is achieved due to the use of thin individual metal tips on the electrodes. It is shown that the initial stage of breakdown of a discharge gap is accompanied by the emergence of a dense plasma cloud at the end of a tip with electron density of about 5 × 10¹⁹ cm^–3 with a size of tens of microns, as well as by a sharp increase in the total current through the diode. After the emergence of a dense plasma cloud at the end of a cathode tip, a similar cloud is formed on the surface of the anode; sometime later, these clouds join together and form a tubular current channel. The dynamics of the breakdown, as well as the parameters of the plasma are studied by the abovementioned techniques in three independent optical channels.     

MeV – proton emission from ultrafast laser-driven microparticles

Propagation of a high intensity (10¹⁹ W/cm²) ultrashort (35 fs) laser pulse through a cloud of water spheres (150 nm diameter) results in hot electron driven proton acceleration up to 1 MeV. It is suggested that during the propagation of the short pulse through the low density wing of the cloud, the leading pulse pedestal is reduced owing to absorption by the preplasma created. Then, the high-intensity peak of the pulse propagates through this underdense plasma and interacts with the high-density inner part of the cloud, which has not been transformed into an underdense plasma so that a sheath acceleration process at each individual microsphere can take place. The observed proton spectra show strong modulations, which are interpreted within the framework of a known fluid-expansion model incorporating two hot-electron populations with significantly different densities and temperatures. PACS 52.50.Jm; 52.38.Kd; 41.75.Jv     

Relativistic generation of isolated attosecond pulses in a lambda 3 focal volume

Lasers that provide an energy encompassed in a focal volume of a few cubic wavelengths (lambda(3)) can create relativistic intensity with maximal gradients, using minimal energy. With particle-in-cell simulations we found, that single 200 attosecond pulses could be produced efficiently in a lambda(3) laser pulse reflection, via deflection and compression from the relativistic plasma mirror created by the pulse itself. An analytical model of coherent radiation from a charged layer confirms the pulse compression and is in good agreement with simulations. The novel technique is efficient (approximately 10%) and can produce single attosecond pulses from the millijoule to the joule level.     

强激光在窄通道中传播的理论研究

在考虑相对论和有质动力非线性以及全局电量守衡的前提下,分析了强激光在冷等离子体窄通道中稳定传播的情况。采用较为简化的二维理论模型,给出了描述激光和通道横向结构的解,对不同通道宽度、通道密度、激光强度和电磁模式等进行了讨论,分析了其对激光在等离子体通道中传播的影响。分析发现,在存在预通道的情况下,当等离子体通道的密度大于临界密度很多时(例如20倍临界密度),即使是在激光波长量级的通道中,激光仍然可以传播。通道越宽,等离子体密度越小;激光强度越大越容易传播。在同样的通道和传输情况下,TE0模传输所需要的激光强度比TE1模要小。     

Bubble creation and collapse during excimer laser ablation of weak absorbing polymers

We present evidence suggesting that XeCl laser ablation of a weakly absorbing poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) polymer, done by chemical, thermal bond breaking of the polymer chain or optical breakdown of the material, which involves plasma generation, creates a cloud of small asymmetric near the surface bubbles, which subsequently expand and aggregate during the same laser pulse duration or in subsequent pulses depending on the laser pulse energy. When a critical volume is reached each bubble collapses in a high pressure and temperature central point and rebounds ejecting a hot jet of material on the non-irradiated area of the polymer and creating craters on the surface. A characteristic bipolar pressure wave corresponding to the bubble collapse, explosion and rebound is observed. The number density of the craters on the surface is a function of the laser pulse sequence number and the laser pulse energy density.     

Higher-Derivative Gravitational Coupling Between Laser Beams

The gravitational field due to laser pulse traveling along a straight waveguide with a velocity v < c is considered in the framework of higher-derivative theory of gravitation. The deflection of a probe laser pulse propagating in the vicinity of a high-power laser pulse is discussed. It is shown from a numerical comparison that the deflection of the probe laser pulse predicted by higher-derivative theory of gravitation is much less than the prediction of general relativity if the wavelength of the laser pulse is smaller than the range of the additional force.     

Electron acceleration in quasi-stationary electromagnetic fields during the self-channeling of intense light pulses

We theoretically investigate the possibility of electron acceleration during the self-channeled propagation of laser radiation. We consider a new acceleration mechanism associated with the formation of an ion cloud in material (under the ponderomotive force of the laser radiation) that moves together with the laser pulse. We show that the quasi-stationary electric and magnetic fields generated by the moving ion cloud can lead to the acceleration of electrons up to energies of several dozen MeV and to the formation of an electron beam propagating forward coaxially with the laser pulse. The calculated angular distribution of the accelerated electrons is in satisfactory agreement with published experimental results.     

Isolated attosecond pulses generated by relativistic effects in a wavelength-cubed focal volume

Lasers that provide an energy encompassed in a focal volume of a few cubic wavelengths (lambda3) can create relativistic intensity with maximal gradients using minimal energy. With particle-in-cell simulations we found that single 200-as pulses could be produced efficiently in a lambda3 laser pulse reflection by means of deflection and phase compression caused by the coherent motion of the plasma electrons that emit these pulses. This novel technique is efficient (approximately 10%) and can produce single attosecond pulses from the millijoule to the joule level.     

Femtosecond laser pulse filamentation versus optical breakdown in H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

The competition between femtosecond laser pulse induced optical breakdown and femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in condensed matter is studied both experimentally and numerically using water as an example. The coexistence of filamentation and breakdown is observed under tight focusing conditions. The development of the filamentation process from the creation of a single filament to the formation of many filaments at higher pulse energy is characterized systematically. In addition, strong deflection and modulation of the supercontinuum is observed. They manifest themselves at the beginning of the filamentation process, near the highly disordered plasma created by optical breakdown at the geometrical focus. Received: 9 July 2002 / Revised version: 15 November 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-418/6562-623, E-mail: wliu@phy.ulaval.ca     

The effect of plasma channel on the self-distortion of laser pulse propagating through the collisional plasma channel

In the present paper, laser pulse distortion/breakup and the effect of the plasma channel on the laser propagation through the collisional plasma have been studied by using moment theory approach. Second order nonlinear differential equations of the beam width parameter have been derived for the propagation of the laser through uniform homogenous plasma and preformed plasma channel having parabolic density profile. Differential equations of beam width parameter have been solved numerically using Runge Kutta method. It has been observed from analysis that when the laser pulse propagates through the homogenous plasma, the low intensity front and rear parts of the laser get defocused/diffracted and the high intensity central/main portion of the laser pulse gets self-guided. As a result of this, the laser pulse gets distorted. This distortion of the laser has not been observed when the laser pulse is propagated through the plasma channel having density minimum at the axis and maximum at the edges. The laser pulse is guided as a whole, even the low intensity front and rear parts of the laser are also guided. Therefore, the plasma channel is useful to prevent the distortion/breakup of the laser.     

黑腔中高斯型激光束偏折的模拟研究

利用三维激光等离子体相互作用流体程序LAP3D数值模拟研究了高斯光束在均匀等离子体传播过程中的激光束偏折现象,分别考察了激光强度变化和等离子体横向流的流速变化对束偏折的影响。模拟结果表明：当流速接近离子声速时,激光束偏折效应最明显,此时激光偏折程度与激光强度成正比;当流速逐渐小于离子声速时,激光束偏折行为受抑制逐渐减弱;而当流速逐渐大于离子声速时,激光光强包络的变化以衍射效应为主。     

Ultrashort excitations of surface polaritons and waveguide modes in semiconductors

Polarization-dependent structures have been formed on the silicon surface under the action of femtosecond laser pulses. Some model concepts are proposed to describe changes in the response of the semiconductor surface caused by the generation of a nonequilibrium electron-hole plasma and explain the excitation of surface polaritons and waveguide modes during a femtosecond laser pulse.     

Filamentation on laser irradiated spherical targets

Filamentary structures have been observed in the corona plasma of spherical targets irradiated uniformly at intensities of 10¹²-10¹⁴ W cm^-2 by a 1.5 ns Nd glass laser pulse and probed by a 50 ps (FWHM) Raman shifted second harmonic probe pulse.     

X-ray and vacuum-ultraviolet plasma spectroscopy with the use of new focusing multilayer structures

The spectra of a laser plasma in the soft x-ray (0.8–0.95 nm) and vacuum ultraviolet (3–4 nm) ranges are recorded with the use of new focusing multilayer structures. It is demonstrated that the electron temperature of the light-element plasma produced by a laser pulse with an energy of ～1 mJ can be measured by using the relative intensities of the satellites and the lines of ions with different charges.     

超短激光脉冲在等离子体中的分裂以及类孤子结构的形成

用一维粒子模拟研究了超短脉冲在等离子体中传播时产生的光孤子结构以及由此形成的脉冲分裂现象，比较了不同峰值强度和脉冲宽度对形成光孤子以及脉冲传播方式的影响.研究表明: 脉冲宽度在若干个到十几个振荡周期的超短脉冲在等离子体中可能形成高速传播的光孤子；脉冲宽度增加和强度增大两种方式都可以使得孤子结构的传播速度减慢,且由于高阶孤子的衰变使得初始激光脉冲在等离子体中发生分裂，形成两个以不同速度向前传播的孤子结构.由孤子阶数的理论计算可较好地预言激光脉冲在等离子体中分裂的子脉冲数. 关键词： 光孤子 超短激光脉冲 等离子体 粒子模拟     

Controlling the spacing of attosecond pulse trains from relativistic surface plasmas

When a laser pulse hits a solid surface with relativistic intensities, XUV attosecond pulses are generated in the reflected light. We present an experimental and theoretical study of the temporal properties of attosecond pulse trains in this regime. The recorded harmonic spectra show distinct fine structures which can be explained by a varying temporal pulse spacing that can be controlled by the laser contrast. The pulse spacing is directly related to the cycle-averaged motion of the reflecting surface. Thus the harmonic spectrum contains information on the relativistic plasma dynamics.