Observations of Collimated Ionization Channels in Aluminum-Coated Glass Targets Irradiated by Ultraintense Laser Pulses

M. Borghesi, A. J. Mackinnon, A. R. Bell, G. Malka, C. Vickers, O. Willi, J. R. Davies, A. Pukhov, and J. Meyer-ter-Vehn
Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4309 – Published 22 November 1999
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Abstract

Filamentary ionization tracks have been observed via optical probing inside Al-coated glass targets after the interaction of a picosecond 20-TW laser pulse at intensities above 1019W/cm2. The tracks, up to 700μm in length and between 10 and 20μm in width, originate from the focal spot region of the laser beam. Simulations performed with 3D particle-in-cell and 2D Fokker-Planck hybrid codes indicate that the observations are consistent with ionization induced in the glass target by magnetized, collimated beams of high-energy electrons produced during the laser interaction.

  • Received 28 December 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4309

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Borghesi*, A. J. Mackinnon, A. R. Bell, G. Malka, C. Vickers, and O. Willi

  • The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom

J. R. Davies

  • Instituto Superior tecnico, GoLP, 1096 Lisboa, Portugal

A. Pukhov§ and J. Meyer-ter-Vehn

  • Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching, Germany

  • *Present address: Department of Pure and Applied Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
  • Present address: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA.
  • Present address: Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, Domaine du Haut-Vigneau, BP 120, Université de Bordeaux 1, 33175 Gradignan Cedex, France.
  • §On leave from Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, 141700 Russia.

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Vol. 83, Iss. 21 — 22 November 1999

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