Ionization effects in the generation of wake-fields by ultra-high contrast femtosecond laser pulses in argon gas

Abstract

Difference in mechanisms of wake-field generation and electron self-injection by high contrast femtosecond laser pulses in an initially neutral Argon gas and in pre-ionized plasma without ionization is studied via 2D particle-in-cell simulations including optical ionization of the media. For shorter laser pulses, 40 fs, ionization results only in an increase of the charge of accelerated electrons by factor of ∼3 with qualitatively the same energy distribution. For longer pulses, 80 fs, a more stable wake field structure is observed in the neutral gas with the maximal energy of the accelerated electrons exceeding that in the fixed density plasma. In higher density Argon, an ionizing laser pulse converts itself to a complex system of solitons at a self-induced, critical density ramp.