Nilson, P. M. and Mangles, S. P. D. and Willingale, L. and Kaluza, M. C. and Thomas, A. G. R. and Tatarakis, M. and Clarke, R. J. and Lancaster, K. L. and Karsch, S. and Schreiber, J. and Najmudin, Z. and Dangor, A. E. and Krushelnick, K. (2010) Plasma cavitation in ultraintense laser interactions with underdense helium plasmas. New Journal of Physics, 12. ISSN 1367-2630
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Plasma cavitation in an underdense helium plasma driven by an ultraintense laser pulse (I > 10(20) W cm(-2)) is studied. Shadowgraphy and interferometry diagnose plasma channel formation as the laser pulse propagates through the underdense plasma. Measurements of the spatially resolved Thomson side-scattered light generated by the intense-driver pulse indicate the transverse and longitudinal extremities of the cavitated regions that form. Multiple laser-driven channels are observed and each is shown to be a source of electrons with energies greater than 100 MeV. Electron cavitation within an ion channel is consistent with the direct laser acceleration (DLA) mechanism that is present.