Abstract
Laser beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have found major applications in a variety of scientific fields, and their potential for ultrahigh-intensity laser-matter interactions has since recently been considered theoretically. We present an experiment where such beams interact with plasma mirrors up to laser intensities such that the motion of electrons in the laser field is relativistic. By measuring the spatial intensity and phase profiles of the high-order harmonics generated in the reflected beam, we obtain evidence for the helical wavefronts of the high-intensity laser at focus, and study the conservation of OAM in highly nonlinear optical processes at extreme laser intensities. The physical effects determining the field mode content of the twisted harmonic beams are elucidated.
- Received 1 September 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.033902
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Getting Plasma in a Twist
Published 18 January 2017
Laser vortex beams can exchange their optical angular momentum with a plasma from which they are reflected.
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