Interaction of Ultra-High Laser Fields with Beams and Plasmas.

摘要

The nonlinear interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with electron beams and plasmas is rich in a wide variety of new phenomena. Advances in laser science have made possible compact terawatt lasers capable of generating subpicosecond pulses at ultra-high powers (equal or more than 1 TW) and intensities (equals or more than 1018 W/sq cm). These ultrahigh intensities result in highly relativistic nonlinear electron dynamics. This paper briefly addresses a number of phenomena including (1) laser excitation of large amplitude plasma waves (wakefields), (2) relativistic optical guiding of laser pulses in plasmas, (3) optical guiding by preformed plasma channels, (4) laser frequency amplification by ionization fronts and plasma waves, (5) relativistic harmonic generation, (6) stimulated backscattering from plasmas and electron beams, (7) nonlinear Thomson scattering from plasmas and electron beams, and (8) cooling of electron beams by intense lasers. Potential applications of these effects are also discussed.