Nonlinear propagation of ultraintense and ultrashort laser pulses in a plasma channel limited by metallic walls

Abstract

The nonlinear propagation of an ultraintense and ultrashort (UIUS) laser pulse in a metallic capillary is investigated using a classical model which takes into account the inverse bremsstrahlung absorption (IBA) in the formed plasma. The attenuation of the laser pulse due to the IBA in the plasma and to the laser energy dissipation in the metallic walls is shown. The guiding length and the twist of the laser pulse temporal envelope are presented for several values of the parameters of the plasma, the laser pulse and the metal. The numerical treatment shows that the guiding length increases when the pulse duration becomes shorter. This calculus shows also that in the case of moderate electronic densities, ne<1017m−3, the formed plasma has a negligible effect compared to that of the metallic walls.