March 21, 2014
15:00 S.A. Akhmanov Hall, Nonlinear Optics Bld.
Alexander Pukhov...
Seminar
Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes and International Laser Center of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State Univercity
- Alexander Pukhov (Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Universität Düsseldorf)
"Laser-plasma interaction at the highest intensities"
ABSTRACT
As the laser technology continues its spectacular development, ever higher field intensities and power levels become accessible in laboratories. The projects like ELI, iZEST, iCAN, XCELS, etc. open new horizons for laser applications in high energy and fundamental physics. High gradient particle acceleration in plasmas is going to be combined with high average power and high efficiency laser drivers.
In the talk I will discuss major regimes of plasma-based particle acceleration and novel sources of radiation. Electrons are accelerated in laser-driven wake fields. The most successful regime of high amplitude relativistic wakes is the so called bubble, when the laser light pressure is high enough to expel all electrons from the first half plasma wave. The bubble regime is stable, scalable and naturally produces quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches.
Ion/proton acceleration in light sail regime and in relativistic shock waves will be discussed. We consider both coherent and incoherent X- ray generation from relativistic electrons. The coherent emission is due to high harmonic generation. The incoherent radiation comes from radiation damping. At intensities above 1022 W/cm2 the radiation damping term is larger than the Lorentz force acting on an electron. The X-ray emission is then the major channel of laser energy absorption.
