Abstract

Since the seminal paper by Tajima and Dawson, there has been extensive research on the interaction between intense particle beams and lasers with plasmas. Interestingly, the focused intensity (or energy density) of the state-of-the-art particle beams and lasers are both ~10²¹ W/cm². At these intensities the space charge fields or the beam and the fields of the laser are large enough to rapidly accelerate plasma electrons to relativistic energies and are high enough to tunnel ionize a gas. The subject of intense laser and beam plasma interactions is therefore rich in nonlinear, relativistic, and ultra-fast physics and it is part of the rapidly emerging field of high-energy density science. It is also fundamental to the field of plasma-based accelerators.

© 2005 Optical Society of America