A collimated beam of fast protons, with energies as high 1.5 MeV and total number $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{9}$, confined in a cone angle $40\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ is observed when high-intensity high-contrast subpicosecond laser pulse focused onto thin foil target. The which appear to originate from impurities on the front side target, are accelerated over region extending into target exit out back direction...

We demonstrate that a beam of x-ray radiation can be generated by simply focusing single high-intensity laser pulse into gas jet. A millimeter-scale laser-produced plasma creates, accelerates, and wiggles an ultrashort relativistic electron bunch. As they propagate in the ion channel produced wake pulse, accelerated electrons undergo betatron oscillations, generating femtosecond synchrotron radiation, which has keV energy lies within narrow (50 mrad) cone angle.

A novel laser-plasma-based source of relativistic electrons is described. It involves a combination orthogonally directed laser beams, which are focused in plasma. One beam excites wakefield electron plasma wave. Another locally alters the trajectory some such way that they can be accelerated and trapped by With currently available table-top terawatt lasers, single ultrashort-duration bunch to multi-MeV energies fraction millimeter, with femtosecond synchronization between light pulse,...

We report the generation of MeV x rays using an undulator and accelerator that are both driven by same 100-terawatt laser system. The pulse driving scattering independently optimized to generate a high energy electron beam ($>200\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$) maximize output x-ray brightness. total photon number was measured be $\ensuremath{\sim}1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}$, source size $5\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$, divergence angle $\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{...

When a terawatt-peak-power laser beam is focused into gas jet, an electron plasma wave, driven by forward Raman scattering, observed to accelerate naturally collimated of electrons relativistic energies (up 10 9 total electrons, with energy distribution maximizing at 2 megaelectron volts, transverse emittance as low 1 millimeter-milliradian, and field gradient up gigaelectron volts per centimeter). Electron acceleration the appearance high-frequency modulations in transmitted light spectrum...

By focusing petawatt peak power laser light to intensities up 1021 W cm−2, highly relativistic plasmas can now be studied. The force exerted by pulses with this extreme intensity has been used accelerate beams of electrons and protons energies a million volts in distances only microns. This acceleration gradient is thousand times greater than radio-frequency-based accelerators. Such novel compact laser-based radiation sources have demonstrated parameters that are useful for research...

As tabletop lasers continue to reach record levels of peak power, the interaction light with matter has crossed a new threshold, in which plasma electrons at laser focus oscillate relativistic velocities. The highest forces ever exerted by have been used accelerate beams and protons energies million volts distances only microns. Not is this acceleration gradient up thousand times greater than radio-frequency-based sources, but transverse emittance particle comparable or lower. Additionally,...

Acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies by a multidimensional self-modulated laser wakefield is discussed. Above power threshold, relativistically self-guided channel from an intense ultrashort pulse ( $I\ensuremath{\sim}4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{18}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, $\ensuremath{\lambda}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$, $\ensuremath{\tau}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}400\mathrm{fs}$)...

We have observed deuterons accelerated to energies of about 2 MeV in the interaction relativistically intense 10 TW, 400 fs laser pulse with a thin layer deuterated polystyrene deposited on Mylar film. These high-energy were directed boron sample, where they produced ∼105 atoms positron active isotope C11 from reaction B10(d,n)11C. The activation results suggest that front surface target.

The relativistic plasma wave excited when the frequency difference between two copropagating C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ laser beams equals is detected for first time. plasma-wave frequency, number, spatial extent, and saturation time are directly measured by use of 7-mrad, collective, ruby Thomson scattering forward-scattered ir spectrum. amplitude $\frac{\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{n}}{{n}_{0}}$ inferred to be (1-3)% which gives a longitudinal electric field 0.3 1 GV/m at intensity...

Using interferometry, we investigate the dynamics of interaction a relativistically intense 4-TW, 400-fs laser pulse with He gas jet. We observe stable plasma channel 1 mm long and less than 30 microm in diameter, radial gradient electron density approximately 5 x 10(22) cm(-4) an on-axis ten times its maximum value 8 10(19) cm(-3). A high velocity surrounding ionization 3.8 10(8) cm/s has been observed after formation, it is attributed to fast ions expelled from propagating radially...

The development of compact high-intensity lasers, made possible by the technique chirped pulse amplification, is reviewed. This includes complexities high-power laser implementation, such as generation short pulses, cleaning, wide-bandwidth temporal stretching and compression, requirements for high-average powers. Details specific solid-state systems are given. Some applications these lasers to short-pulse coherent short-wavelength [x-ray ultraviolet (XUV)] sources also several nonlinear...

A linearly polarized, ultraintense laser field induces transverse plasma currents which are highly relativistic and nonlinear, resulting in the generation of coherent harmonic radiation forward direction (i.e., copropagating with incident field). nonlinear cold fluid model, valid for ultrahigh intensities, is formulated used to analyze generation. The density response included self-consistently shown significantly reduce current driving radiation. Phase detuning severely limits growth...

Time- and space-resolved extreme ultraviolet spectra of carbon plasmas, created with 100-fs laser pulses, are obtained the novel technique picosecond jitter-free streak-camera averaging. Spectroscopic diagnostics indicate electron densities temperatures evolving from ${10}^{23}$ to ${10}^{21}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ 80 50 eV, respectively, implying less than one particle in a Debye sphere at early times. The emission reveals conditions pressure ionization line merging. Comparisons...

Recent advances in table-top, ultrahigh intensity lasers have led to significant renewed interest the classic problem of Thomson scattering. An important current application these scattering processes is generation ultrashort-pulse-duration x rays. In this tutorial, classical theory nonlinear an electron intense laser field presented. It found that orbit, and therefore its spectra, depends on amplitude phase at which sees electric field. Novel, simple asymptotic expansions are obtained for...

An electron density bubble driven in a rarefied uniform plasma by slowly evolving laser pulse goes through periods of adiabatically slow expansions and contractions. Bubble expansion causes robust self-injection initially quiescent electrons, whereas stabilization contraction terminate thus limiting injected charge; concomitant phase space rotation reduces the bunch energy spread. In regimes relevant to experiments with hundred terawatt- petawatt-class lasers, dynamics and, hence, process...

Based on single particle tracking in the framework of classical Thomson scattering with incoherent superposition, we developed a relativistic, three-dimensional numerical model that calculates and quantifies characteristics emitted radiation when relativistic electron beam interacts an intense laser pulse. This has been benchmarked against analytical expressions, based plane wave approximation to field, derived by Esarey et al. [Phys. Rev. E 48, 3003 (1993)]. For pulses sufficient duration,...

Gamma-ray photons with energy >9 MeV were produced when second-harmonic-generated laser light (3 eV) inverse-Compton-scattered from a counterpropagating relativistic (∼450 MeV) laser-wakefield-accelerated electron beam. Two pulses the same system used: one to accelerate electrons and scatter. Since two play very different roles in γ-ray generation process, thus have requirements, novel was developed. It separately independently optimized optical properties of pulses. This approach also...

An on-axis plasma density depression channel was observed during and after the passage of a relativistically ponderomotively self-guided laser pulse through plasma. Optical interferometry used to produce time-resolved distributions, revealing formation waveguide. These results were complemented by guiding collinear trailing pulse.

A method for generating large-amplitude plasma waves, which utilizes an optimized train of independently adjustable, intense laser pulses, is discussed and analyzed. Both the pulse widths interpulse spacings are optimally determined such that resonance maintained wave amplitude maximized. By mitigating effects both phase resonant detuning, by reducing laser-plasma instabilities, use appropriately tailored multiple pulses a highly advantageous technique accelerating electrons. Practical...