A scaling law of photoelectron angular distributions in one-cycle laser pulses

The photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) from above-threshold ionization of atoms irradiated by one-cycle laser pulses satisfy a scaling law. The scaling law denotes that the main features of the PADs are determined by four dimensionless parameters: (1) the ponderomotive number u(p) = U-p/hw, the ponderomotive energy U-p in units of laser photon energy; (2) the binding number E-b = E-b/h(w), the atomic binding energy E-b in units of laser photon energy; (3) the number of absorbed photons q; (4) the carrier-envelope phase phi(0), the phase of the carrier wave with respect to the envelope. We verify the scaling law by theoretical analysis and numerical calculation, compared to that in long-pulse case. A possible experimental test to verify the scaling law is suggested.

Ablation and ultrafast dynamics of zinc selenide under femtosecond laser irradiation

The ablation in zinc selenide (ZnSe) crystal is studied by using 150-fs, 800-nm laser system. The images of the ablation pit measured by scanning electronic microscope (SEM) show no thermal stress and melting dynamics. The threshold fluence is measured to be 0.7 J/cm2. The ultrafast ablation dynamics is studied by using pump and probe method. The result suggests that optical breakdown and ultrafast melting take place in ZnSe irradiated under femtosecond laser pulses.

Phase dependence of electron acceleration in a tightly focused laser beam

Electron acceleration using a tightly focused ultraintensity laser beam is investigated numerically and strong phase dependence is found. The acceleration is periodic to the variety of the initial laser field phase, and the accelerated electrons are emitted in pulses of which the full width is the half period of the laser field. When a 10 PW intense laser beam is used, the electron with energy less than 1 Mev can be accelerated up to energies about 1.4 GeV. The optimal initial condition for electron acceleration is found. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Ion acceleration in laser-excited plasma wake fields

The dynamics of the plasma ions in the wake fields of short, ultraintense laser pulses in underdense plasmas are investigated analytically and numerically. Owing to the large ion-to-electron mass ratio, the motion of plasma ions in-such wake fields has often been assumed to be neglectable. It is shown that when the laser intensity exceeds 10(20) W/cm(2), the ion motion can no longer be ignored. In this case, ion momentum peaks appear behind the laser pulse, which correspond with the ion density peaks. The laser-excited wake field appears to be effective for ion acceleration, in particular to ions with high-charge numbers. The dependence of ion acceleration on the laser intensity, pulse width, and background plasma density is discussed. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Ion cascade acceleration from the interaction of a relativistic femtosecond laser pulse with a narrow thin target

Particle-in-cell simulations are performed to study the acceleration of ions due to the interaction of a relativistic femtosecond laser pulse with a narrow thin target. The numerical results show that ions can be accelerated in a cascade by two electrostatic fields if the width of the target is smaller than the laser beam waist. The first field is formed in front of the target by the central part of the laser beam, which pushes the electron layer inward. The major part of the abaxial laser energy propagates along the edges to the rear side of the target and pulls out some hot electrons from the edges of the target, which form another electrostatic field at the rear side of the target. The ions from the front surface are accelerated stepwise by these two electrostatic fields to high energies at the rear side of the target. The simulations show that the largest ion energy gain for a narrow target is about four times higher than in the case of a wide target. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Long lifetime plasma channel in air generated by multiple femtosecond laser pulses and an external electrical field

The lifetime of a plasma channel produced by self-guiding intense femtosecond laser pulses in air is largely prolonged by adding a high voltage electrical field in the plasma and by introducing a series of femtosecond laser pulses. An optimal lifetime value is realized through adjusting the delay among these laser pulses. The lifetime of a plasma channel is greatly enhanced to 350 ns by using four sequential intense 100fs( FWHM) laser pulses with an external electrical field of about 350kV/m, which proves the feasibility of prolonging the lifetime of plasma by adding an external electrical field and employing multiple laser pulses. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.