Relativistic plasma optics and collective particle dynamics in dense plasma

稠密等离子体中的相对论等离子体光学和集体粒子动力学

• 批准号: 1959186
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Strathclyde
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2017 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-1959186
• 关键词: Relativistic; plasma; optics; collective; particle

Exploiting relativistic phenomena in intense laser-plasma interactions has led to significant breakthroughs in applications such as charged particle acceleration and the generation of ultra-short bursts of high energy radiation. Even the most fundamental properties of a relativistic plasma such as its index of refraction are profoundly affected by nonlinearities in electron motion. The interplay between intense laser light and the plasma not only modifies the light propagation, but also defines the properties of high energy particles and radiation produced.One such relativistic phenomena - induced transparency - can produce laser self-focusing, the transmission of shorter pulses with a fast rising edge (through thin foils) and is predicted to change the laser polarisation. If developed and controlled, these effects could be applied for the active manipulation of intense laser pulses for applications. We have recently shown that a self-generated relativistic plasma aperture is produced in a thin foil undergoing transparency, which induces diffraction of the transmitted laser light. The resulting near-field diffraction pattern transversely displaces plasma electrons and can be controlled to produce helical plasma structures and other collective electron motion. This concept can be used to manipulate the charge separation-induced electrostatic fields responsible for ion acceleration.The project builds on this programme of work and will provide new understanding of the properties of the laser radiation transmitted during RSIT and thus underpin the development of relativistic plasma photonics aimed at achieving tuneable temporal, spatial and polarisation control of laser pulses at ultrahigh intensity and contrast. This will include experimental investigations using the new 350TW state-of-the-art laser at the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma Accelerators (SCAPA) in the Physics department and external larger scale high power laser facilities at the Central Laser Facility in Oxfordshire. Opportunities also exist for the student to contribute to future experiments at the new Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) facilities under development. The project also involves numerical simulation of intense laser-plasma interaction phenomena to help guide the interpretation of experiment results.The objectives of the project are to:1. Characterise the laser pulse temporal shaping and gating2. Determine the influence of the laser focus spatial-intensity distribution 3. Investigate Relativistic transparency-induced laser polarisation distributions

利用强激光-等离子体相互作用中的相对论现象，在诸如带电粒子加速和产生高能辐射的超短脉冲等应用方面取得了重大突破。即使是相对论等离子体最基本的性质，如折射率，也会受到电子运动非线性的深刻影响。强激光和等离子体之间的相互作用不仅改变了光的传播，而且还定义了高能粒子和产生的辐射的性质。其中一种相对论现象--诱导透明--可以产生激光自聚焦，即传输具有快速上升沿的较短脉冲（通过薄箔），预计会改变激光的偏振。如果开发和控制，这些效应可以应用于强激光脉冲的主动操纵。我们最近已经证明，一个自生的相对论等离子体孔中产生的薄箔经历透明，这诱导透射激光的衍射。所产生的近场衍射图案横向地移动等离子体电子，并且可以被控制以产生螺旋等离子体结构和其他集体电子运动。这个概念可以用来操纵负责离子加速的电荷分离诱导的静电场。该项目建立在这个工作计划的基础上，将提供对RSIT期间传输的激光辐射特性的新理解，从而支持相对论等离子体光子学的发展，旨在实现可调谐的时间，空间和偏振控制的激光脉冲的强度和对比度。这将包括在物理系的苏格兰等离子体加速器应用中心（SCAPA）使用新的350 TW最先进的激光器进行实验研究，以及在牛津郡中央激光设施的外部更大规模的高功率激光设施。学生也有机会为正在开发的新的极端光基础设施（ELI）设施的未来实验做出贡献。该项目还涉及强激光-等离子体相互作用现象的数值模拟，以帮助指导实验结果的解释。表征激光脉冲时间整形和选通2.确定激光焦点空间强度分布的影响3.研究相对论相干性引起的激光偏振分布