Ionization waves of arbitrary velocity driven by a flying focus

A chirped laser pulse focused by a chromatic lens exhibits a dynamic, or flying, focus in which the trajectory of the peak intensity decouples from the group velocity. In a medium, the flying focus can trigger an ionization front that follows this trajectory. By adjusting the chirp, the ionization f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. A 2018-03, Vol.97 (3), Article 033835
Main Authors: Palastro, J. P., Turnbull, D., Bahk, S.-W., Follett, R. K., Shaw, J. L., Haberberger, D., Bromage, J., Froula, D. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
laser-plasma interactions
light propagation, transmission and absorption
multiphoton or tunneling ionization and excitation
plasma ionization
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Summary:A chirped laser pulse focused by a chromatic lens exhibits a dynamic, or flying, focus in which the trajectory of the peak intensity decouples from the group velocity. In a medium, the flying focus can trigger an ionization front that follows this trajectory. By adjusting the chirp, the ionization front can be made to travel at an arbitrary velocity along the optical axis. For this study, we present analytical calculations and simulations describing the propagation of the flying focus pulse, the self-similar form of its intensity profile, and ionization wave formation. The ability to control the speed of the ionization wave and, in conjunction, mitigate plasma refraction has the potential to advance several laser-based applications, including Raman amplification, photon acceleration, high-order-harmonic generation, and THz generation.
ISSN:2469-9926
2469-9934
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.97.033835