Spatial and temporal electron and ion density variations within the focal region of an intense laser beam in a tenuous plasma

The recent availability of focussed laser beams with flux densities well in excess of 10¹⁵ watts/cm² at 1.06 μm has led to experimental investigations of direct interaction between intense electromagnetic fields and charged particles. In this paper the relevant hydrodynamic two-fluid mode equations for a singly ionized tenuous plasma eveloped by an intense spatially varying electromagnetic field at the focus of a pulsed laser beam is solved by computer simulations for a cylindrically symmetric geometry. Radial, axial and temporal variations of electron and ion densities are given for different laser intensities and particle number densities. Fluctuations in electron density are found due to the bulk oscillation of electrons relative to what is essentially a static array of massive ions. The possibility of generating intense electromagnetic fields devoid of charged particles is discussed.