Capillary discharge as a source of quiet plasma for experiments with petawatt laser beams (Conference Presentation)

Abstract

Capillary discharge is a convenient tool for creation of stable quiet plasma that could be used in experiments devoted to interaction of high intensity laser beams with plasma. This talk will be devoted to review of different applications of this capillary discharge plasma in such kind of experiments as well as to methods of simulation of such plasma. Due to specific features of its steady state, such plasma can form an optical wave guide for distant enough transportation of intense laser beams that is used in laser accelerators of multi-GeV electrons. Balance between Ohmic heating and thermal conduction cooling provides not so sharp refraction index profile in the wave guides. To diminish spot size of matched laser beam in comparison of capillary radius the plasma near the capillary axis could be heated additionally by nanosecond laser beam, transported in the wave guide in self consistently manner. This aim generates a rather complicated optic-plasma-dynamic problem. Approaches to solutions of this problem will be considered. Discharges in curved capillaries could be used in multi-stage laser accelerators of electrons for merging and separating of electron and laser beams. Theory of plasma steady state in such curved capillaries as well as its guiding properties will be briefly considered also. Capillary discharge due to existence of magnetic field formed by electric current through the discharge can be used as an active plasma lens. Such magnetic lenses can be used for compression and transportation of electron beams accelerated with laser electron accelerators. Main properties of such active plasma lenses will be considered in the talk also.