Special relativity in action in laser produced plasmas

The special theory of relativity formulated by A. Einstein a century ago is now a standard working tool for investigating the interaction of ultra intense electromagnetic fields with matter. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

On the ion acceleration by high power electromagnetic waves in the radiation pressure dominated regime

When the laser pulse radiation pressure is dominant, the efficiency of the laser energy transformation into the energy of relativistic ions is very high. An analysis of the stability of a thin plasma slab accelerated by the radiation pressure shows that the onset of a Rayleigh-Taylor-like instability can lead to transverse bunching of the slab. At the nonlinear stage of the instability development the plasma slab breaks up into separated clumps, which are accelerated by the wave radiation pressure. An indication of the effect of radiation pressure on the bulk target ions is obtained in the experimental studies of plasma jets ejected from the rear side of thin solid targets irradiated by ultraintense laser pulses. To cite this article: S. V Bulanov et al., C R. Physique 10 (2009). (C) 2009 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

The stability of single and double vortex films in the framework of the Hasegawa-Mima equation

The results of investigation of the stability problem for single and double vortex films in terms of the Hasegawa-Mima equation are presented. It is proved that a single chain of point vortices and a single vortex film are always unstable. It is shown that an antisymmetrical double vortex chain can be stable for certain chain parameters, as it is for the von Karman vortex row. The results of the numerical simulation of the instability onset in the strongly nonlinear stage are also discussed

Generation and propagation of high quality proton beams produced by laser plasma interactions

The acceleration of proton beams during the interaction of an ultra short and ultra intense laser pulse with matter is possibly the most important application of compact laser systems with multi-terawatt and petawatt power. High quality beams with a small energy spread are required for applications where spatially accurate energy deposition is important. For some specific applications the target may be located far from the acceleration region, in which case space charge effects and the interaction with an ambient plasma may deteriorate the beam quality during its propagation. Here, first we review a recently proposed method for producing high quality proton beams using short laser pulses and a target made of a layer of heavy ions followed by a thin proton layer with a transverse size smaller than the pulse waist. Subsequently, we investigate the effects of the beam propagation through a plasma slab in a simplified one-dimensional model

Evolution of the frequency spectrum of a relativistically strong laser pulse in a plasma

The evolution of laser pulses during their interaction with underdense and overdense plasmas is investigated. The spectra of both the reflected and the transmitted radiation are examined. The structure of these spectra is due to the stimulated Raman scattering, nonlinear phase self modulation and to the Doppler effect

Magnetic interaction and magnetic wake of high intensity laser pulses in plasmas

Super-intense laser pulses produce quasi-static magnetic fields in plasmas. The mutual attraction of the currents inside the self-focused channels, arising from the pulse filamentation, makes them interact magnetically and coalesce into a single channel. Pulses of finite length propagate in the shape of a ''bullet'' and produce a wake consisting of a row of electron vortices

Oncological hadrontherapy with laser ion accelerators

The use of an intense collimated beam of protons produced by a high-intensity laser pulse interacting with a plasma for the proton treatment of oncological diseases is discussed, The fast proton beam is,, produced at the target by direct laser acceleration. An appropriately designed double-layer target scheme is proposed in order to achieve high-quality proton beams, The generation of high quality proton beams is proved with particle in cell simulations. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Electron vortices produced by ultraintense laser pulses

Particle-in-cell simulations show that finite width and length laser pulses subject to relativistic self-focusing propagate in an underdense plasma in a ''bullet'' shape and produce a quasistatic magnetic field. This held remains behind the pulse and forms a magnetic wake associated with a row of electron fluid vortices which are described by the Hasegawa-Mima equation. The vortices propagate much more slowly than the pulse and evolve into an antisymmetric configuration which is shown to be stable when the distance between its vortices is greater than the electron skin depth

Polarization effects and anisotropy in three-dimensional relativistic self-focusing

The relativistic self-focusing of high-intensity laser pulses in underdense plasmas is investigated with three-dimensional particle in cell simulations. The different behavior of a linearly polarized pulse in the two transverse directions is interpreted as a combination of two two-dimensional responses with different polarizations. In the polarization plane a high density sheet is formed, which separates the two regions of oppositely directed quasistatic magnetic field