Experiments and simulations of tunnel-ionized plasmas

Ionization Waves of Arbitrary Velocity

Flying focus is a technique that uses a chirped laser beam focused by a highly chromatic lens to produce an extended focal region within which the peak laser intensity can propagate at any velocity. When that intensity is high enough to ionize a background gas, an ionization wave will track the intensity isosurface corresponding to the ionization threshold. We report on the demonstration of such ionization waves of arbitrary velocity. Subluminal and superluminal ionization fronts were produced that propagated both forward and backward relative to the ionizing laser. All backward and all superluminal cases mitigated the issue of ionization-induced refraction that typically inhibits the formation of long, contiguous plasma channels.

Nanoscale Electron Bunching in Laser-Triggered Ionization Injection in Plasma Accelerators

Ionization injection is attractive as a controllable injection scheme for generating high quality electron beams using plasma-based wakefield acceleration. Because of the phase-dependent tunneling ionization rate and the trapping dynamics within a nonlinear wake, the discrete injection of electrons within the wake is nonlinearly mapped to a discrete final phase space structure of the beam at the location where the electrons are trapped. This phenomenon is theoretically analyzed and examined by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations which show that three-dimensional effects limit the wave number of the modulation to between >2k_{0} and about 5k_{0}, where k_{0} is the wave number of the injection laser. Such a nanoscale bunched beam can be diagnosed by and used to generate coherent transition radiation and may find use in generating high-power ultraviolet radiation upon passage through a resonant undulator.

Monte Carlo framework for noncontinuous interactions between particles and classical fields

Particles and fields are standard components in numerical calculations like transport simulations in nuclear physics and have well-understood dynamics. Still, a common problem is the interaction between particles and fields due to their different formal description. Particle interactions are discrete, pointlike events while field dynamics is described with continuous partial-differential equations of motion. A workaround is the use of effective theories like the Langevin equation with the drawback of energy conservation violation. We present a method, which allows us to model noncontinuous interactions between particles and scalar fields, allowing us to simulate scattering-like interactions which exchange discrete "quanta" of energy and momentum between fields and particles while obeying energy and momentum conservation and allowing control over interaction strengths and times. In this paper we apply this method to different model systems, starting with a simple harmonic oscillator, which is damped by losing discrete energy quanta. The second and third system consists of an oscillator and a one-dimensional field, which are damped via discrete energy loss and are coupled to a stochastic force, leading to equilibrium states which correspond to statistical Langevin-like systems. The last example is a scalar field in (1 + 3) space-time dimensions, which is coupled to a microcanonical ensemble of particles by incorporating particle production and annihilation processes. Obeying the detailed-balance principle, the system equilibrates to thermal and chemical equilibrium with dynamical fluctuations on the fields, generated dynamically by the discrete interactions.

Macroscopic description for the quantum Weibel instability

The Weibel instability in the quantum plasma case is treated by means of a fluidlike (moments) approach. Quantum modifications to the macroscopic equations are then identified as effects of the first or second kind. Quantum effects of the first kind correspond to a dispersive term, similar to the Bohm potential in the quantum hydrodynamic equations for plasmas. Effects of the second kind are due to the Fermi statistics of the charge carriers and can become the dominant influence for strong degeneracy. The macroscopic dispersion relations are of higher order than those for the classical Weibel instability. This corresponds to the presence of a cutoff wave number even for the strong temperature anisotropy case.

Plasma-density-gradient injection of low absolute-momentum-spread electron bunches

Plasma density gradients in a gas jet were used to control the wake phase velocity and trapping threshold in a laser wakefield accelerator, producing stable electron bunches with longitudinal and transverse momentum spreads more than 10 times lower than in previous experiments (0.17 and 0.02 MeV/c FWHM, respectively) and with central momenta of 0.76+/-0.02 MeV/c. Transition radiation measurements combined with simulations indicated that the bunches can be used as a wakefield accelerator injector to produce stable beams with 0.2 MeV/c-class momentum spread at high energies.

Laser guiding for GeV laser-plasma accelerators

Guiding of relativistically intense laser beams in preformed plasma channels is discussed for development of GeV-class laser accelerators. Experiments using a channel guided laser wakefield accelerator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have demonstrated that near mono-energetic 100 MeV-class electron beams can be produced with a 10 TW laser system. Analysis, aided by particle-in-cell simulations, as well as experiments with various plasma lengths and densities, indicate that tailoring the length of the accelerator, together with loading of the accelerating structure with beam, is the key to production of mono-energetic electron beams. Increasing the energy towards a GeV and beyond will require reducing the plasma density and design criteria are discussed for an optimized accelerator module. The current progress and future directions are summarized through comparison with conventional accelerators, highlighting the unique short-term prospects for intense radiation sources based on laser-driven plasma accelerators.

Guiding of relativistic laser pulses by preformed plasma channels

Guiding of relativistically intense (>10(18) W/cm2) laser pulses over more than 10 diffraction lengths has been demonstrated using plasma channels formed by hydrodynamic shock. Pulses up to twice the self-guiding threshold power were guided without aberration by tuning the guide profile. Transmitted spectra and mode images showed the pulse remained in the channel over the entire length. Experiments varying guided mode power and simulations show a large plasma wave was driven. Operating just below the trapping threshold produces a dark current free structure suitable for controlled injection.

Residual energy in optical-field-ionized plasmas with the longitudinal motion of electrons included

The space-charge effect on the residual energy of electrons in optical-field-ionized plasmas is studied in detail by an extended simplified model and the cloud-in-cell simulation, with the longitudinal motion of electrons included. It is found that in moderate conditions the space-charge field can influence the residual energy of electrons effectively by matching the space-charge field with laser pulse. The effect of stimulated Raman scattering on electron temperature is also investigated in detail. Finally, a comparison is made between the results and experimental data.

Optical-field-ionization effects on the propagation of an ultraintense laser pulse in high- Z gas jets

Interaction of an ultraintense, a(0) >>1, laser pulse with an underdense Ar plasma is analyzed via a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation which self-consistently includes optical-field ionization. In spite of rapid growth of ion charge Z and, hence, electron density at the laser front, relativistic self-focusing is shown to persist owing to a reduction of the expected plasma defocusing resulting from the weak radial dependence of the ion charge on laser intensity (even for Z/gamma>1 where gamma is the electron relativistic factor).

Enhanced acceleration of injected electrons in a laser-beat-wave-induced plasma channel

Enhanced energy gain of externally injected electrons by a approximately 3 cm long, high-gradient relativistic plasma wave (RPW) is demonstrated. Using a CO2 laser beat wave of duration longer than the ion motion time across the laser spot size, a laser self-guiding process is initiated in a plasma channel. Guiding compensates for ionization-induced defocusing (IID) creating a longer plasma, which extends the interaction length between electrons and the RPW. In contrast to a maximum energy gain of 10 MeV when IID is dominant, the electrons gain up to 38 MeV energy in a laser-beat-wave-induced plasma channel.

Nonresonant beat-wave excitation of relativistic plasma waves with constant phase velocity for charged-particle acceleration

The nonresonant beat-wave excitation of relativistic plasma waves is studied in two-dimensional simulations and experiments. It is shown through simulations that, as opposed to the resonant case, the accelerating electric fields associated with the nonresonant plasmons are always in phase with the beat-pattern of the laser pulse. The excitation of such nonresonant relativistic plasma waves is shown to be possible for plasma densities as high as 14 times the resonant density. The density fluctuations and the fields associated with these waves have significant magnitudes, facts confirmed experimentally using collinear Thomson scattering and electron injection, respectively. The applicability of these results towards eventual phase-locked acceleration of prebunched and externally injected electrons is discussed.

Electron-yield enhancement in a laser-wakefield accelerator driven by asymmetric laser pulses

The effect of asymmetric laser pulses on electron yield from a laser wakefield accelerator has been experimentally studied using >10(19) cm(-3) plasmas and a 10 TW, >45 fs, Ti:Al2O3 laser. The laser pulse shape was controlled through nonlinear chirp with a grating pair compressor. Pulses (76 fs FWHM) with a steep rise and positive chirp were found to significantly enhance the electron yield compared to pulses with a gentle rise and negative chirp. Theory and simulation show that fast rising pulses can generate larger amplitude wakes that seed the growth of the self-modulation instability, and that frequency chirp is of minimal importance for the experimental parameters.

Long plasma channels generated by femtosecond laser pulses

Generation of a long plasma channel by femtosecond laser pulses is investigated. The results show that the balance between the nonlinear self-focusing of the laser beam and plasma defocusing forms a long plasma channel, which guides the laser beam to propagate a long distance in air. This phenomenon can be used to trigger lightning.

Bulk-to-surface-wave self-conversion in optically induced ionization processes

Nonlinear time evolution of a p-polarized wave mode with inhomogeneous transverse structure producing tunnel ionization of a gas is investigated by numerical simulation and theoretical analysis. A phenomenon of trapping of electromagnetic radiation via its adiabatic conversion into surface waves guided by the field-created plasma structure is found out numerically. This process is accompanied by significant frequency downshifting of the electromagnetic radiation. The underlying physical mechanism is explained using a simple theoretical model. The described phenomena may play significant role in the self-channeling and frequency tuning of intense (approximately 10(14)-10(18) W/cm(2)) laser pulses in dense gases.