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arXiv · 1510.01766

Plasma lenses for ultrashort multi-petawatt laser pulses

J. P. Palastro·D. Gordon·B. Hafizi·L. A. Johnson·J. Penano·R. F. Hubbard·M. Helle·D. Kaganovich
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Abstract

An ideal plasma lens can provide the focusing power of a small f-number, solid-state focusing optic at a fraction of the diameter. An ideal plasma lens, however, relies on a steady-state, linear laser pulse-plasma interaction. Ultrashort multi-petawatt (MPW) pulses possess broad bandwidths and extreme intensities, and, as a result, their interaction with the plasma lens is neither steady state nor linear. Here we examine nonlinear and time-dependent modifications to plasma lens focusing, and show that these result in chromatic and phase aberrations and amplitude distortion. We find that a plasma lens can provide enhanced focusing for 30 fs pulses with peak power up to ~1 PW. The performance degrades through the MPW regime, until finally a focusing penalty is incurred at ~10 PW.

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J. P. Palastro, D. Gordon, B. Hafizi, L. A. Johnson, J. Penano, R. F. Hubbard, M. Helle, D. Kaganovich. 2015-10-06. Plasma lenses for ultrashort multi-petawatt laser pulses. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4936286

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