Published December 25, 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

Observation of the plasma channel dynamics and Coulomb explosion in the interaction of a high intensity laser pulse with He gas jet

  • 1. P.N. Lebedev Physics Inst. RAS, Moscow (Russian Federation)
  • 2. Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Description

We report on first interferometric observations of the dynamics of electron-ion cavitation of relativistically self-focused intense 4 TW 400 fs laser pulse in a He gas jet. The electron density in the channel 1 mm long and 30 μm in diameter drops approximately 10 times from the maximum value of ∼ 8 x 1019 cm-3. High radial velocity of the plasma expansion ∼ 3.8 x 108 cm/s corresponding to the ion energy about 300 keV has been observed. The total energy of fast ions is estimated to be 6% of the laser pulse energy. The high velocity radial plasma expulsion is explained by a charge separation due to the strong ponderomotive force. This experiment demonstrates a new possibility for direct transmission of a significant part of laser pulse energy into the ions

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Pis'ma v Zhurnal Ehksperimental'noj i Teoreticheskoj Fiziki
Journal Volume
66
Journal Issue
11-12
Journal Page Range
p. 787-792
ISSN
0370-274X
CODEN
PZETAB

INIS

Optional Information

Notes
14 refs., 3 figs.