It is found that there is an upper-limit critical power for self-guided propagation of intense lasers in plasma in addition to the well-known lower-limit critical power set by the relativistic effect.Above this upper-limit critical power,the laser pulse experiences defocusing due to expulsion of local plasma electrons by the transverse ponderomotive force.Associated with the upper-limit power,a lower-limit critical plasma density is also found for a given laser spot size,below which self-focusing does not occur for any laser power.Both the upper-limit power and the lower-limit density are derived theoretically and verified by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.The present study provides new guidance for experimental designs,where self-guided propagation of lasers is essential.
Interactions of two counter-streaming plasmas driven by high power laser pulses are studied on Shenguang II laser facility.Filamentary structures were observed in the interaction region after the electrostatic shockwave decay.Theoretical analysis and observations indicate that the filaments are because of collisionless mechanisms,which are caused by the electromagnetic instability,such as the beam-Weibel instability.Collision experiments were also carried out for comparison and no filaments were generated.
YUAN DaWeiLI YuTongSU LuNingLIAO GuoQianYIN ChuanLeiZHU BaoJunZHANG Jie
Terahertz radiation,defined in the frequency range of 0.1-10 THz,has been exploited to demonstrate unique properties that do not apply to the adjacent domains of the electromagnetic waves,such as infrared and microwave.Recent advances in terahertz science and technology hold promise for a wide variety of essential applications,particularly in spectroscopy,sensing,imaging,non-destructive detections,and communications.This focus issue is comprised of invited and contributed
A survey on the mechanisms of powerful terahertz (THz) radiation from laser plasmas is presented.Firstly,an analytical model is described,showing that a transverse net current formed in a plasma can be converted into THz radiations at the plasma oscillation frequency.This theory is applied to explain THz generation in a gas driven by two-color laser pulses.It is also applied to THz generation in a tenuous plasma driven by a chirped laser pulse,a few-cycle laser pulse,a DC/AC bias electric field.These are well verified by particle-in-cell simulations,demonstrating that THz radiations produced in these approaches are nearly single-cycles and linear polarized.In the chirped laser scheme and the few-cycle laser scheme,THz radiations with the peak field strength of tens of MV/cm and the peak power of gigawatt can be achieved with the incident laser intensity less than 10 17 W/cm 2.
Terahertz (THz) radiation has attracted much attention due to its wide potential applications. Though radiation can be generated with various ways, it is still a big challenge to obtain strong tabletop sources. Plasma, with the advantage of no damage limit, is a promising medium to generate strong THz radiation. This review reports recent advances on strong THz radiation generation from low-density gases and high-density solid targets at different laser intensities.
Acceleration of protons by the radiation pressure of a circularly polarized laser pulsewith the intensity up to 10^(21) W/cm^2 from a double-layer or multi-ion-mixed thin foil is investigatedby two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The double-layer foil is composed of a heavy ionlayer and a proton layer. It is found that the radiation pressure acceleration can be classifiedinto three regimes according to the laser intensity due to the different critical intensities for lasertransparency with different ion species. When the laser intensity is moderately high, the laserpushes the electrons neither so slowly nor so quickly that the protons can catch up with theelectrons, while the heavy ions cannot. Therefore, the protons can be accelerated efficiently. Theproton beam generated from the double-layer foil is of better quality and higher energy than thatfrom a pure proton foil with the same areal electron density. When the laser intensity is relativelylow, both the protons and heavy ions are accelerated together, which is not favorable to the protonacceleration. When the laser intensity is relatively high, neither the heavy ions nor the protonscan be accelerated efficiently due to the laser transparency through the target.
