Interaction of ultrahigh laser fields with beams and plasmas

Abstract

The nonlinear interaction of ultraintense 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 ultrahigh powers (≥1 TW) and intensities (≥10¹⁸ W/cm²). These ultrahigh intensities result in highly relativistic nonlinear electron dynamics. This paper briefly addresses a number of phenomena including (i) laser excitation of large‐amplitude plasma waves (wake fields), (ii) relativistic optical guiding of laser pulses in plasmas, (iii) optical guiding by preformed plasma channels, (iv) laser frequency amplification by ionization fronts and plasma waves, (v) relativistic harmonic generation, (vi) stimulated backscattering from plasmas and electron beams, (vii) nonlinear Thomson scattering from plasmas and electron beams, and (viii) cooling of electron beams by intense lasers. Potential applications of these effects are also discussed.