Related papers: Microengineering laser plasma interactions at rela…
Efficient coupling of intense laser pulses to solid-density matter is critical to many applications including ion acceleration for cancer therapy. At relativistic intensities, the focus has been mainly on investigating various laser beams…
We report on experimental results in a new regime of a relativistic light-matter interaction employing mid-infrared (3.9-micrometer wavelength) high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses. In the laser generated plasma, the electrons reach…
This dissertation explores the interaction between high-intensity lasers and plasmas to accelerate electrons and produce radiation via experimental and computational efforts. The laser pulses used in this dissertation have ultrashort…
Laser plasma interaction with micro-engineered targets at relativistic intensities has been greatly promoted by recent progress in the high contrast lasers and the manufacture of advanced micro- and nano-structures. This opens new…
The Schwinger limit could be approached by focusing to its diffraction limit the light reflected by a plasma mirror irradiated by a multi-petawatt laser. We explore numerically the interaction between such intense light and matter. We find…
The interaction of micro- and nano-structured target surfaces with high-power laser pulses is being widely investigated for its unprecedented absorption efficiency. We have developed vertically aligned metallic micro-pillar arrays for…
The paper is devoted to the prospects of using the laser radiation interaction with plasmas in the laboratory relativistic astrophysics context. We discuss the dimensionless parameters characterizing the processes in the laser and…
The regimes of quasi-mono-energetic electron beam generation were experimentally studied in the sub-relativistic intensity laser plasma interaction. The observed electron acceleration regime is unfolded with two-dimensional-particle-in-cell…
Intense femtosecond laser pulses interacting with solids can drive electrons to relativistic energies, enabling miniaturized particle accelerators and bright extreme-ultraviolet light sources. In-situ space-time control of these electrons…
A short, tutorial introduction to some basic concepts of laser-plasma interactions at ultra-high intensities is given. The selected topics include a) elements of the relativistic dynamics of an electron in electromagnetic fields, including…
As a new-generation light source, free-electron lasers (FELs) provide high-brightness X-ray pulses at the angstrom-femtosecond space and time scales. The fundamental physics behind the FEL is the interaction between an electromagnetic wave…
We propose the experiments on the collision of laser light and high intensity electromagnetic pulses generated by relativistic flying mirrors, with electron bunches produced by a conventional accelerator and with laser wake field…
Ion acceleration from gaseous targets driven by relativistic-intensity lasers was demonstrated as early as the late 90s, yet most of the experiments conducted to date have involved picosecond-duration, Nd:glass lasers operating at low…
For sufficiently short relativistic-intensity laser pulses, the disparity in time scales for electron and ion motion causes ions to behave as a fixed, neutralizing background. As the pulse duration or intensity is increased, ion motion…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process associated with conversion of the embedded magnetic field energy into kinetic and thermal plasma energy, via bulk acceleration and Ohmic dissipation. In many high-energy astrophysical…
In this paper, we present an experiment that explores the plasma dynamics of a 7 micron diameter carbon wire after being irradiated with a near-relativistic-intensity short pulse laser. Using an X-ray Free Electron Laser pulse to measure…
Relativistic electrons generated by the interaction of petawatt-class short laser pulses with solid targets can be used to generate bright X-rays via bremsstrahlung. The efficiency of laser energy transfer into these electrons depends on…
We report on progress in the understanding of the effects of kilotesla-level applied magnetic fields on relativistic laser-plasma interactions. Ongoing advances in magnetic-field-generation techniques enable new and highly desirable…
The field of laser-matter interaction traditionally deals with the response of atoms, molecules and plasmas to an external light wave. However, the recent sustained technological progress is opening up the possibility of employing intense…
We present an experimental demonstration of the efficient acceleration of electrons beyond 60 MeV using micro-channel plasma targets. We employed a high-contrast, 2.5 J, 32 fs short pulse laser interacting with a 5 \mu m inner diameter, 300…