Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized plasma channels
AU - Shalloo, R. J.
AU - Arran, C.
AU - Corner, L.
AU - Holloway, J.
AU - Jonnerby, J.
AU - Walczak, R.
AU - Milchberg, H. M.
AU - Hooker, S. M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2018 American Physical Society.
PY - 2018/5/7
Y1 - 2018/5/7
N2 - We present experiments and numerical simulations which demonstrate that fully ionized, low-density plasma channels could be formed by hydrodynamic expansion of plasma columns produced by optical field ionization. Simulations of the hydrodynamic expansion of plasma columns formed in hydrogen by an axicon lens show the generation of 200 mm long plasma channels with axial densities of order ne(0)=1×1017cm-3 and lowest-order modes of spot size WM≈40μm. These simulations show that the laser energy required to generate the channels is modest: of order 1 mJ per centimeter of channel. The simulations are confirmed by experiments with a spherical lens which show the formation of short plasma channels with 1.5×1017cm-3ne(0)1×1018cm-3 and 61μmWM33μm. Low-density plasma channels of this type would appear to be well suited as multi-GeV laser-plasma accelerator stages capable of long-term operation at high pulse repetition rates.
AB - We present experiments and numerical simulations which demonstrate that fully ionized, low-density plasma channels could be formed by hydrodynamic expansion of plasma columns produced by optical field ionization. Simulations of the hydrodynamic expansion of plasma columns formed in hydrogen by an axicon lens show the generation of 200 mm long plasma channels with axial densities of order ne(0)=1×1017cm-3 and lowest-order modes of spot size WM≈40μm. These simulations show that the laser energy required to generate the channels is modest: of order 1 mJ per centimeter of channel. The simulations are confirmed by experiments with a spherical lens which show the formation of short plasma channels with 1.5×1017cm-3ne(0)1×1018cm-3 and 61μmWM33μm. Low-density plasma channels of this type would appear to be well suited as multi-GeV laser-plasma accelerator stages capable of long-term operation at high pulse repetition rates.
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.97.053203
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevE.97.053203
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29906935
AN - SCOPUS:85047019541
VL - 97
JO - Physical Review E
JF - Physical Review E
SN - 2470-0045
IS - 5
M1 - 053203
ER -