A scheme to generate single-cycle laser pulses is presented based on photon deceleration in underdense plasmas. This robust and tunable process is ideally suited for lasers above critical power because it takes advantage of the relativistic self-focusing of these lasers and the nonlinear features of the plasma wake. The mechanism is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations in three and 2½ dimensions, resulting in pulse shortening up to a factor of 4, thus making it feasible to generate few-femtosecond single-cycle pulses in the optical to IR domain with intensities I > 1020 W/cm2 by using present-day laser technology.
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机译:提出了一种基于低密度等离子体中光子减速的单周期激光脉冲产生方案。这种鲁棒且可调的过程非常适合临界功率以上的激光器,因为它利用了这些激光器的相对论性自动聚焦和等离子唤醒的非线性特征。通过在3维和2½维的单元中粒子仿真演示了该机制,从而使脉冲缩短了多达4倍,从而使在光到IR域中以强度I产生几飞秒的单周期脉冲成为可能。使用当今的激光技术,> 10 20 sup> W / cm 2 sup>
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