In situ characterization of ultraintense laser pulses

Abstract

We present a method for determining the characteristics of an intense laser pulse by probing it with a relativistic electron beam. After an initial burst of very high-energy γ-radiation the electrons proceed to emit a series of attosecond duration X-ray pulses as they leave the field. These flashes provide detailed information about the interaction, allowing us to determine properties of the laser pulse: something that is currently a challenge for ultra-high intensity laser systems.

From polarized gravitational waves to analytically solvable electromagnetic beams

“…Finally, following Refs. [41,42] and [77]- [78], we hope that they can be also useful in the study of the light-matter interaction, especially for strong focusing of short or intense laser pulses.…”

Towards an in situ, full-power gauge of the focal-volume intensity of petawatt-class lasers

“…1 that the overlap between harmonics can be slowed by observing the radiation at smaller θ. While additional information about the RTS is contained in the angular distribution of the radiation, as suggested by Harvey [29], this approach will run into issues when θ gets too small, making it difficult to prevent the laser light from being captured with the RTS radiation. We estimate that this will occur before 10 21 W/cm 2 .…”

Pair production seeded by electrons in noble gases as a method for the laser intensity diagnostics

“…Nevertheless, the determination of the peak intensity of such strong laser pulses represents a formidable task. Recently, a number of various techniques have been extensively discussed in the literature: measuring yields of highly charged ions due to atomic ionization [11][12][13], detecting the light scattering or additional radiation due to the interaction between electrons and the laser field [14][15][16][17][18][19], or the analysis of photoionization or direct acceleration of charged particles [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] (see also references therein). In the present paper we discuss how the laser intensity diagnostics can be carried out using the strongfield QED mechanism of pair production due to the interaction of free electrons or free xenon atoms with an intense laser field.…”