Related papers: Achieving extreme light intensities using relativi…
Experimental results, supported by precise modelling, demonstrate optimisation of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy ($<1$ J), corresponding to a normalised vector potential $a_0 = 2.15$, using ionisation injection…
Direct laser acceleration has proven to be an efficient source of high-charge electron bunches and high brilliance X-rays. However, an analytical description of the acceleration in the interaction with varying plasma density targets is…
We present an in-depth experimental-computational study of the parameters necessary to optimize a tunable, quasi-monoenergetic, efficient, low-background Compton backscattering (CBS) x-ray source that is based on the self-aligned…
The basic understanding of high-intensity femtosecond laser absorption in a solid is crucial for high-energy-density science. This multidimensional problem has many variables like laser parameters, solid target material, and geometry of the…
We propose convergent plasma lenses, possibly from current sheets, as a generic solution to strong interstellar scattering. These lenses resolve the overpressure problem by geometric alignment as noted by Goldreich and Shridhar (2006). They…
Ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV) sources with a controllable polarization state are powerful tools for investigating the structural and electronic as well as the magnetic properties of materials. However, such light sources are still…
This article demonstrates a new compression scheme that has the potential to compress a high energy pulse as high as a few hundred Joules in a pulse as short as one optical cycle at 0.8{\mu}m making a true ultra-relativistic {\lambda}^3…
Focusing petawatt-level laser beams to a variety of spot sizes for different applications is expensive in cost, labor and space. In this paper, we propose a plasma lens to flexibly resize the laser beam by utilizing the laser self-focusing…
We report the enhancement of individual harmonics generated at a relativistic ultra-steep plasma vacuum interface. Simulations show the harmonic emission to be due to the coupled action of two high velocity oscillations -- at the…
We review recent PIC simulation results which show that double-sided irradiation of a thin over-dense plasma slab with ultra-intense laser pulses from both sides can lead to sustained comoving Poynting flux acceleration of electrons to…
The plasma density grating induced by intersecting intense laser pulses can be utilized as an optical compressors, polarizers, waveplates and photonic crystals for the manipulation of ultra-high-power laser pulses. However, the formation…
This paper reports on the use of coherent microwave scattering (CMS) for spatially resolved electron number density measurements of elongated plasma structures induced at mid-IR femtosecond filamentation in air. The presented studies…
The scattered field formalism is combined to the particle-in-cell method to model relativistic laser-plasma dynamics in complex field configurations. Despite the strong nonlinearity of the interactions, we demonstrate the validity of this…
Interactions of relativistically intense laser pulses with structured targets have long been explored for controlling energy absorption and particle acceleration. However, at upcoming multi-petawatt laser facilities, the survivability of…
We demonstrate a tandem lens optical setup, comprising two diffractive optics, that focuses a high-power ultrafast laser with a shaped on-axis intensity profile, producing a meter-long Bessel focus. The intended use of the optical setup is…
Beam injection and extraction from a plasma module is still one of the crucial aspects to solve in order to produce high quality electron beams with a plasma accelerator. Proper matching conditions require to focus the incoming high…
We introduce two-color counterrotating circularly polarized laser fields as a new way to spectrally control high harmonic generation (HHG) from relativistic plasma mirrors. Through particle-in-cell simulations, we show that only a selected…
Fundamental to many applications of laser pulses in science and technology is an extended interaction length with matter that significantly exceeds the distance over which the pulse would normally diffract and transversely spread. At low…
It is shown by multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that intense secondary whistler waves with special vortex-like field topology can be excited by a relativistic laser pulse in the highly magnetized, near-critical density plasma.…
We report on the first detailed analysis of large three dimensional (3D) complex plasma structures in experiments performed in pure rf and combined rf+dc discharge modes. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is generated by an rf coil wrapped…