Laser wakefield generation by R, L, X and O modes in magnetized plasma

Abstract

Short and intense laser pulse propagating in a plasma produces an electrostatic wakefield that is widely used in laser acceleration of charged particles. Amplitude of the wakefield depends on several factors, including the laser pulse polarization. Magnetized plasma is anisotropic for various laser polarization and in different condition, different modes can propagate in plasma. In this paper, we investigate the propagation conditions of each modes and with finding the governing equations, the excitation of wakefield due to the laser pulse with the different modes, including circular (R and L modes), elliptic (X mode) and linear (L mode) polarizations, will be determined. By using the forth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm, the differential equations, simultaneously have been solved. The results show that, the amplitude of the wakefield depends not only on the laser mode but also on the plasma density, external magnetic field and laser frequency.