Non-linear Dynamics Commons^™

All-Optical Control Of Nonlinear Self-Focusing In Plasmas Using Non-Resonantly Driven Plasma Wave, Serguei Y. Kalmykov, Bradley A. Shadwick, Michael C. Downer

Serge Youri Kalmykov

Excitation of plasma density perturbations by an initially bi-color laser pulse helps to control nonlinear refraction in the plasma and enables various types of laser self-guiding. In this report we consider a setup that not only makes possible the transport of laser energy over cm-long relatively dense plasmas (n_0 = 10^{18} cm^{−3}) but also transforms the pulse into the unique format inaccessible to the conventional amplification techniques (relativistically intense periodic trains of few-cycle spikes). This well focusable pulse train is a novel light source interesting for ultra-fast high-field science applications. The opposite case of suppression of nonlinear self-focusing and dynamical …