High-Power, Kilojoule Class Laser Channeling in Millimeter-Scale Underdense Plasma

Willingale, L.; Nilson, P.M.; Thomas, Alexander; Cobble, J. A.; Craxton, R. S.; Maksimchuk, A.; Norreys, P.; Sangster, T. C.; Scott, R. H. H.; Stoeckl, C.; Zulick, C.; Krushelnick, K.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.105002

Cited by 66 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…30 However, a difference in our case is that strong magnetic fields are used for the collimation along the plasma channel in a critical and/or over-critical density. In addition, the generated electron beam has higher density and lower averaged energy compared to those from the wake field acceleration 33,34 and the surface waves acceleration 35,36 where relatively low density plasma is used. There may be an attractive application of this collimation and high intensity electron beam over a few MeV electrons to the direct heating of high density core such as super-penetration mode in fast ignition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collimated fast electron beam generation in critical density plasma

et al. 2014

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Significantly collimated fast electron beam with a divergence angle 10° (FWHM) is observed when an ultra-intense laser pulse (I = 1014 W/cm2, 300 fs) irradiates a uniform critical density plasma. The uniform plasma is created through the ionization of an ultra-low density (5 mg/c.c.) plastic foam by X-ray burst from the interaction of intense laser (I = 1014 W/cm2, 600 ps) with a thin Cu foil. 2D Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulation well reproduces the collimated electron beam with a strong magnetic field in the region of the laser pulse propagation. To understand the physical mechanism of the collimation, we calculate energetic electron motion in the magnetic field obtained from the 2D PIC simulation. As the results, the strong magnetic field (300 MG) collimates electrons with energy over a few MeV. This collimation mechanism may attract attention in many applications such as electron acceleration, electron microscope and fast ignition of laser fusion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collimated fast electron beam generation in critical density plasma

et al. 2014

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“…This regime is the opposite to the regime used for the wakefield acceleration 10 . As a consequence, the laser pulse establishes a quasi-steady-state structure in the plasma that slowly evolves on an ion time scale [11][12][13] . By expelling some of the electrons radially, the laser creates a positively charged elongated channel in the plasma with quasi-static transverse and longitudinal electric fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the ponderomotive limit: Direct laser acceleration of relativistic electrons in sub-critical plasmas

et al. 2016

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We examine a regime in which a linearly-polarized laser pulse with relativistic intensity irradiates a subcritical plasma for much longer than the characteristic electron response time. A steady-state channel is formed in the plasma in this case with quasi-static transverse and longitudinal electric fields. These relatively weak fields significantly alter the electron dynamics. The longitudinal electric field reduces the longitudinal dephasing between the electron and the wave, leading to an enhancement of the electron energy gain from the pulse. The energy gain in this regime is ultimately limited by the superluminosity of the wave fronts induced by the plasma in the channel. The transverse electric field alters the oscillations of the transverse electron velocity, allowing it to remain anti-parallel to laser electric field and leading to a significant energy gain. The energy enhancement is accompanied by development of significant oscillations perpendicular to the plane of the driven motion, making trajectories of energetic electrons three-dimensional. Proper electron injection into the laser beam can further boost the electron energy gain.

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“…In this paper, we focus on the regime where the laser pulse is sufficiently long to establish a slowly evolving channel 14 . This implies that the duration of the laser pulse significantly exceeds the period of plasma oscillations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous emergence of non-planar electron orbits during direct laser acceleration by a linearly polarized laser pulse

et al. 2016

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An electron irradiated by a linearly polarized relativistic intensity laser pulse in a cylindrical plasma channel can gain significant energy from the pulse. The laser electric and magnetic fields drive electron oscillations in a plane making it natural to expect the electron trajectory to be flat. We show that strong modulations of the relativistic γ-factor associated with the energy enhancement cause the free oscillations perpendicular to the plane of the driven motion to become unstable. As a consequence, out of plane displacements grow to become comparable to the amplitude of the driven oscillations and the electron trajectory becomes essentially three-dimensional, even if at an early stage of the acceleration it was flat. The development of the instability profoundly affects the x-ray emission, causing considerable divergence of the radiation perpendicular to the plane of the driven oscillations, while also reducing the overall emitted energy.

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High-Power, Kilojoule Class Laser Channeling in Millimeter-Scale Underdense Plasma

Cited by 66 publications

References 33 publications

Collimated fast electron beam generation in critical density plasma

Collimated fast electron beam generation in critical density plasma

Beyond the ponderomotive limit: Direct laser acceleration of relativistic electrons in sub-critical plasmas

Spontaneous emergence of non-planar electron orbits during direct laser acceleration by a linearly polarized laser pulse

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