Abstract
We study the propagation of 0.05--1 TW power, ultrafast laser pulses in a 10-m-long rubidium vapor cell. The central wavelength of the laser is resonant with the ${D}_{2}$ line of rubidium, and the peak intensity is in the ${10}^{12}$--${10}^{14}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ range, enough to create a plasma channel with single-electron ionization. We observe the absorption of the laser pulse for low energy, a regime of transverse confinement of the laser beam by the strong resonant nonlinearity for higher energies and the transverse broadening of the output beam when the resonant nonlinearity ceases due to the valence electrons all being removed during ionization. We compare experimental observations of the transmitted pulse energy and the transverse fluence profile with the results of computer simulations modeling pulse propagation. We find a qualitative agreement between theory and experiment that corroborates the validity of our propagation model. While the quantitative differences are substantial, the results show that the model can be used to interpret the observed phenomena in terms of self-focusing and channeling of the laser pulses by the saturable, resonant nonlinearity.
Highlights
Particle acceleration in plasma wakefields is a concept about four decades old that is flourishing today in diverse directions
The intense work going on in a multitude of places worldwide is fueled by a series of scientific and technical advances that hold the promise to transfer the plasma wakefield accelerator scheme to use in applications for science and technology in the near future
We present an experimental study of resonant, TW scale power laser pulse propagation in a 10-m-long rubidium vapor performed at the Advanced Proton Driven Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) facility at CERN
Summary
Particle acceleration in plasma wakefields is a concept about four decades old that is flourishing today in diverse directions. One experimental concept aimed at high-energy physics, the Advanced Proton Driven Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) at CERN, is the first wakefield accelerator to use a high-energy proton beam driver to accelerate an electron bunch [5,6,7].
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have