Related papers: Dynamics of self-generated, large amplitude magnet…
Strong magnetic fields and plasmas are intrinsically linked in both terrestrial laboratory experiments and in space phenomena. One of the most profound consequences of that is the change in relationship between the frequency and the wave…
The acceleration of ions in the interaction of circular polarized laser pulses with overdense plasmas is investigated. For circular polarization laser pulses, the quasi-equilibrium for electrons is established due to the light pressure and…
The propagation of ultra intense laser pulses through matter is connected with the generation of strong moving magnetic fields in the propagation channel as well as the formation of a thin ion filament along the axis of the channel. Upon…
We demonstrate the generation of ultrahigh magnetic fields in the order of gigagauss using a bladed microtube target whose inner surface is periodically slanted in a sawtooth-like pattern. When irradiated by ultra-intense, ultrashort laser…
Using spectral interferometry technique, we measured subpicosecond time-resolved pre-plasma scale lengths and early expansion ($<$ 12 ps) of the plasma produced by a high intensity (2$\times$10$^{18}$ W/cm$^{2}$) pulse with ultra-high…
It is found that nonlinear interaction of plasma wakefields driven by counterpropagating laser or particle beams can efficiently generate high-power electromagnetic radiation at the second harmonic of the plasma frequency. Using a simple…
Electrostatic (E) fields associated with the interaction of a well-controlled, high-power, nanosecond laser pulse with an underdense plasma are diagnosed by proton radiography. Using a current 3D wave propagation code equipped with…
Experimental measurements of magnetic fields generated in the cavity of a self-injecting laser-wakefield accelerator are presented. Faraday rotation is used to determine the existence of multi-megagauss fields, constrained to a transverse…
The acceleration of ions in the interaction of high intensity laser pulses with overdense plasmas is investigated with particle-in-cell simulations. For circular polarization of the laser pulses, high-density ion bunches moving into the…
The plasma dynamics resulting from the simultaneous impact, of two equal, ultra-intense laser pulses, in two spatially separated spots, onto a dense target is studied via particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The simulations show that…
Experiments with interacting high-velocity flows of laser plasma can help answer the fundamental questions in plasma physics and improve the understanding of the mechanisms behind astrophysical phenomena, such as formation of collisionless…
When a finite contrast petawatt laser pulse irradiates a micron-thick foil, a prepulse (including amplified spontaneous emission) creates a preplasma, where an ultrashort relativistically strong portion of the laser pulse (the main pulse)…
Proton acceleration by ultra-intense laser pulse irradiating a target with cross-section smaller than the laser spot size and connected to a parabolic density channel is investigated. The target splits the laser into two parallel…
In strong electromagnetic fields, unique plasma phenomena and applications emerge, whose description requires recently developed theories and simulations [Y. Shi, Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University (2018)]. In the classical regime, to…
A pump-probe polarimetric technique is demonstrated, which provides a complete, temporally and spatially-resolved mapping of the megagauss magnetic fields generated in intense short-pulse laser-plasma interactions. A normally-incident…
Magnetized laser-produced plasmas are central to many new studies in laboratory astrophysics, inertial confinement fusion, and industrial applications. Here we present the results of large-scale, three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic…
We propose a scheme to overcome the great challenge of polarization loss in spin-polarized ion acceleration. When a petawatt laser pulse penetrates through a compound plasma target consisting of a double layer slab and prepolarized hydrogen…
Multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are used to study the generation of electrostatic shocks in plasma and the reflection of background ions to produce high-quality and high-energy ion beams. Electrostatic shocks are driven by…
The generation of astrophysically relevant jets, from magnetically collimated, laser-produced plasmas, is investigated through three-dimensional, magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. We show that for laser intensities I ~ 10^12 - 10^14 W/cm^2,…
Magnetic fields generated from a laser-foil interaction are measured with high fidelity using a proton radiography scheme with in situ x-ray fiducials. In contrast to prior findings under similar experimental conditions, this technique…