Relativistic Plasma Optics with Structured Light

激光的偏振矢量可以在时间和空间上进行调制，以产生所谓的结构光。结构光在光学操作、通信、成像和显微技术中一直是一个强大的工具，因为它提供了访问其他方式不可见的现象的途径。该奖项支持的研究工作旨在推动和探索结构化激光与等离子体相互作用中的新现象，等离子体是由相当大一部分带正电荷的离子和自由电子组成的物质状态。高功率椭圆偏振和涡旋激光将被用来产生具有可调偏振态椭圆度和涡度的等离子体谐波。结构光与等离子体的相互作用将提供对它们的光学和磁学性质的新的见解。本项目利用在空间和时间上定制的独特结构的激光光束以及通过它们的偏振态来研究相对论激光与物质相互作用中的新的理论预测现象。提出的测量目标是从等离子体反射镜产生椭圆偏振和涡旋谐波光束，并首次展示通过调节驱动激光光束的能量、椭圆度和涡度来控制其偏振态和涡度的能力。实验结果将与二维和三维粒子细胞模拟的结果进行比较。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The polarization vector of laser light can be modulated in time and space to produce what is referred to as structured light. Structured light has been a powerful tool in optical manipulation, communications, imaging, and microscopy, as it provides access to phenomena not otherwise visible. The research effort supported by this award aims to drive and probe new phenomena in interactions of structured laser beams with plasmas, states of matter consisting of a significant portion of positively-charged ions and free electrons. High-power elliptically polarized and vortex laser beams will be used to produce plasma harmonics with tunable ellipticity and vorticity of the polarization state. Interactions of structured light with plasmas will provide new insights into their optical and magnetic properties.This project investigates new theoretically predicted phenomena in relativistic laser-matter interactions using uniquely structured laser beams tailored in space and time as well as through their polarization state. The objectives of the proposed measurements are to produce elliptically polarized and vortex harmonic beams from plasma mirrors and, for the first time, demonstrate the ability to control their polarization state and vorticity by tuning the energy, ellipticity, and vorticity of the driving laser beam. Experimental results will be compared to the results of two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.