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

G. S. Sarkisov; V. Yu Bychenkov; V. T. Tikhonchuk; A. Maksimchuk; S. Y. Chen; R. Wagner; G. Mourou; D. Umstadter

doi:10.1134/1.567605

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

G. S. Sarkisov, V. Yu Bychenkov, V. T. Tikhonchuk, A. Maksimchuk, S. Y. Chen, R. Wagner, G. Mourou, D. Umstadter

Physics and Astronomy

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42 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the 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 a channel 1 mm long and 30 μm in diameter drops by a factor of approximately 10 from the maximum value of ∼8×10¹⁹ cm^-3. A high radial velocity of the plasma expansion, ∼3.8×10⁸ cm/s, corresponding to an ion energy of about 300 keV, is 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 portion of the energy of a laser pulse to ions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	828-834
Number of pages	7
Journal	JETP Letters
Volume	66
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1134/1.567605
State	Published - 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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@article{ec803c459b9e48f4b0ee78f0519b84b7,

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

abstract = "We report the 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 a channel 1 mm long and 30 μm in diameter drops by a factor of approximately 10 from the maximum value of ∼8×1019 cm-3. A high radial velocity of the plasma expansion, ∼3.8×108 cm/s, corresponding to an ion energy of about 300 keV, is 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 portion of the energy of a laser pulse to ions.",

author = "Sarkisov, {G. S.} and Bychenkov, {V. Yu} and Tikhonchuk, {V. T.} and A. Maksimchuk and Chen, {S. Y.} and R. Wagner and G. Mourou and D. Umstadter",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. S. Pikuz for useful discussion. This work was supported by NSF PHY 972661, NSF STC PHY 8920108, DOE/LLNL subcontract B307953, and the Russian Fund for Fundamental Research (Grants 96-02-16707-a and 96-02-16165-a).",

year = "1997",

doi = "10.1134/1.567605",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "66",

pages = "828--834",

journal = "JETP Letters",

issn = "0021-3640",

publisher = "Pleiades Publishing",

number = "12",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Observation of the plasma channel dynamics and Coulomb explosion in the interaction of a high-intensity laser pulse with a He gas jet

AU - Sarkisov, G. S.

AU - Bychenkov, V. Yu

AU - Tikhonchuk, V. T.

AU - Maksimchuk, A.

AU - Chen, S. Y.

AU - Wagner, R.

AU - Mourou, G.

AU - Umstadter, D.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. S. Pikuz for useful discussion. This work was supported by NSF PHY 972661, NSF STC PHY 8920108, DOE/LLNL subcontract B307953, and the Russian Fund for Fundamental Research (Grants 96-02-16707-a and 96-02-16165-a).

PY - 1997

Y1 - 1997

N2 - We report the 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 a channel 1 mm long and 30 μm in diameter drops by a factor of approximately 10 from the maximum value of ∼8×1019 cm-3. A high radial velocity of the plasma expansion, ∼3.8×108 cm/s, corresponding to an ion energy of about 300 keV, is 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 portion of the energy of a laser pulse to ions.

AB - We report the 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 a channel 1 mm long and 30 μm in diameter drops by a factor of approximately 10 from the maximum value of ∼8×1019 cm-3. A high radial velocity of the plasma expansion, ∼3.8×108 cm/s, corresponding to an ion energy of about 300 keV, is 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 portion of the energy of a laser pulse to ions.

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DO - 10.1134/1.567605

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:18344383473

SN - 0021-3640

VL - 66

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EP - 834

JO - JETP Letters

JF - JETP Letters

IS - 12

ER -

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

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