Plasma ion evolution in the wake of a high-intensity ultrashort laser pulse

Experimental investigations of the late-time ion structures formed in the wake of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse propagating in a tenuous plasma have been performed using the proton imaging technique. The pattern found in the wake of the laser pulse shows unexpectedly regular modulations inside...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2005-05, Vol.94 (19), p.195003-195003, Article 195003
Main Authors: Borghesi, M, Bulanov, S V, Esirkepov, T Zh, Fritzler, S, Kar, S, Liseikina, T V, Malka, V, Pegoraro, F, Romagnani, L, Rousseau, J P, Schiavi, A, Willi, O, Zayats, A V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
EVOLUTION
IONS
LASERS
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
MODULATION
Optics
Physics
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
PROTONS
PULSES
TWO-STREAM INSTABILITY
WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS
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Summary:Experimental investigations of the late-time ion structures formed in the wake of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse propagating in a tenuous plasma have been performed using the proton imaging technique. The pattern found in the wake of the laser pulse shows unexpectedly regular modulations inside a long, finite width channel. On the basis of extensive particle in cell simulations of the plasma evolution in the wake of the pulse, we interpret this pattern as due to ion modulations developed during a two-stream instability excited by the return electric current generated by the wakefield.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.94.195003