Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 505-512 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Nature Physics |
| Volume | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Jan 2016 |
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Keywords
- plasma accelerators
- radiation sources
- relativistic plasma
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Optically controlled dense current structures driven by relativistic plasma aperture-induced diffraction. / Gonzalez-Izquierdo, Bruno; Gray, Ross J.; King, Martin; Dance, Rachel J.; Wilson, Robbie; McCreadie, John; Butler, Nicholas M. H.; Capdessus, Remi; Hawkes, Steve; Green, James S.; Borghesi, Marco; Neely, David; McKenna, Paul.
In: Nature Physics, Vol. 12, 11.01.2016, p. 505-512.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Optically controlled dense current structures driven by relativistic plasma aperture-induced diffraction
AU - Gonzalez-Izquierdo, Bruno
AU - Gray, Ross J.
AU - King, Martin
AU - Dance, Rachel J.
AU - Wilson, Robbie
AU - McCreadie, John
AU - Butler, Nicholas M. H.
AU - Capdessus, Remi
AU - Hawkes, Steve
AU - Green, James S.
AU - Borghesi, Marco
AU - Neely, David
AU - McKenna, Paul
PY - 2016/1/11
Y1 - 2016/1/11
N2 - The collective response of charged particles to intense fields is intrinsic to plasma accelerators and radiation sources, relativistic optics and many astrophysical phenomena. Here we show that a \textit{relativistic plasma aperture} is generated in thin foils by intense laser light, resulting in the fundamental optical process of diffraction. The plasma electrons collectively respond to the resulting laser near-field diffraction pattern, producing a beam of energetic electrons with spatial structure which can be controlled by variation of the laser pulse parameters. It is shown that static electron beam, and induced magnetic field, structures can be made to rotate at fixed or variable angular frequencies depending on the degree of ellipticity in the laser polarization. The concept is demonstrated numerically and verified experimentally, and is an important step towards optical control of charged particle dynamics in laser-driven dense plasma sources.
AB - The collective response of charged particles to intense fields is intrinsic to plasma accelerators and radiation sources, relativistic optics and many astrophysical phenomena. Here we show that a \textit{relativistic plasma aperture} is generated in thin foils by intense laser light, resulting in the fundamental optical process of diffraction. The plasma electrons collectively respond to the resulting laser near-field diffraction pattern, producing a beam of energetic electrons with spatial structure which can be controlled by variation of the laser pulse parameters. It is shown that static electron beam, and induced magnetic field, structures can be made to rotate at fixed or variable angular frequencies depending on the degree of ellipticity in the laser polarization. The concept is demonstrated numerically and verified experimentally, and is an important step towards optical control of charged particle dynamics in laser-driven dense plasma sources.
KW - plasma accelerators
KW - radiation sources
KW - relativistic plasma
UR - http://www.nature.com/nphys/archive/index.html
U2 - 10.1038/nphys3613
DO - 10.1038/nphys3613
M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 505
EP - 512
JO - Nature Physics
T2 - Nature Physics
JF - Nature Physics
SN - 1745-2473
ER -