Electron Acceleration and the Propagation of Ultrashort High-Intensity Laser Pulses in Plasmas

Authors

• Xiaofang Wang, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Mohan Krishnan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Ned Saleh, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Haiwen Wang, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Donald P. Umstadter, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

6-5-2000

Comments

Published by American Physical Society. Physical Review Letters 84, 5324 (2000). http://prl.aps.org. Copyright © 2000 American Physical Society. Permission to use.

Abstract

Reported are interactions of high-intensity laser pulses ( λ = 810 nm and l≤3×10¹⁸ W/cm²) with plasmas in a new parameter regime, in which the pulse duration ( τ = 29 fs) corresponds to 0.6–2.6 plasma periods. Relativistic filamentation is observed to cause laser-beam breakup and scattering of the beam out of the vacuum propagation angle. A beam of megaelectronvolt electrons with divergence angle as small as 1° is generated in the forward direction, which is correlated to the growth of the relativistic filamentation. Raman scattering, however, is found to be much less than previous long-pulse results.