Spatiotemporal control of high-intensity laser pulses with a plasma lens
Plasma Physics
2023-12-20 v1 Optics
Abstract
Spatiotemporal control encompasses a variety of techniques for producing laser pulses with dynamic intensity peaks that move independently of the group velocity. This controlled motion of the intensity peak offers a new approach to optimizing laser-based applications and enhancing signatures of fundamental phenomena. Here, we demonstrate spatiotemporal control with a plasma optic. A chirped laser pulse focused by a plasma lens exhibits a moving focal point, or "flying focus," that can travel at an arbitrary, predetermined velocity. Unlike currently used conventional or adaptive optics, a plasma lens can be located close to the interaction region and can operate at an orders of magnitude higher, near-relativistic intensity.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2312.12188,
title = {Spatiotemporal control of high-intensity laser pulses with a plasma lens},
author = {D. Li and K. G. Miller and J. R. Pierce and W. B. Mori and A. G. R. Thomas and J. P. Palastro},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2312.12188},
year = {2023}
}