Laser Shaping of a Relativistic Intense, Short Gaussian Pulse by a Plasma Lens

Abstract

By 3D particle-in-cell simulation and analysis, we propose a plasma lens to make high intensity, high contrast laser pulses with a steep front. When an intense, short Gaussian laser pulse of circular polarization propagates in near-critical plasma, it drives strong currents of relativistic electrons which magnetize the plasma. Three pulse shaping effects are synchronously observed when the laser passes through the plasma lens. The laser intensity is increased by more than 1 order of magnitude while the initial Gaussian profile undergoes self-modulation longitudinally and develops a steep front. Meanwhile, a nonrelativistic prepulse can be absorbed by the overcritical plasma lens, which can improve the laser contrast without affecting laser shaping of the main pulse. If the plasma skin length is properly chosen and kept fixed, the plasma lens can be used for varied laser intensity above 10(19) W/cm(2).

Dynamic study of a compressed electron layer during the hole-boring stage in a sharp-front laser interaction region

“…The electron and ion layer is destroyed during the acceleration process. Fortunately, it is reported recently that the laser with sharp front can be produced by the plasma lens [29]. In addition, a 0 > 100 within a rise of 10 fs is highly demanding and may be realized in Extreme Light Infrastructure.…”

Optically controlled dense current structures driven by relativistic plasma aperture-induced diffraction

“…The physics underpinning relativistic induced transparency (RIT) in thin foils is discussed by Vshivkov et al [15]. It has been shown that the effect can modify the rising edge profile, duration and polarization of the laser pulse [16][17][18][19] and that it is important in driving new ion acceleration [20,21] and radiation production [22][23][24] mechanisms.…”

“…The physics underpinning relativistic induced transparency (RIT) in thin foils is discussed by Vshivkov et al [15]. It has been shown that the effect can modify the rising edge profile, duration and polarization of the laser pulse [16][17][18][19] and that it is important in driving new ion acceleration [20,21] and radiation production [22][23][24] mechanisms.For the first time, we demonstrate that an ultraintense laser pulse induces a 'relativistic plasma aperture' in a thin foil and as a result undergoes the fundamental optic 2 process of diffraction. It is demonstrated, both numerically and experimentally, that the collective electron motion (including angular frequency of rotation) is determined by the resulting near-field diffraction pattern and can be controlled by simply varying the polarization of the laser.…”

Hot-electron refluxing enhanced relativistic transparency of overdense plasmas

“…1, i.e., ∆t 1 = 2∆L/0.93c = 10.8T , where ∆L = 5λ 0 is the thickness difference between the two plasmas. As the inset shown, the transmitted pulse (Tr) has a sharp front, which may be potentially useful for laser shaping 20 . By measuring the reflected and transmitted laser intensities in experiments 21 , the hot-electron refluxing enhanced transparency may be verified by experiments.…”