Thomson-Scattering from electron plasma waves in a magnetized laser-produced plasma

POSTER

Abstract

We present temporally resolved Thomson-scattering measurements of the electron temperature and density of a magnetized laser-produced plasma. Our experiment demonstrates that by applying a 25T external magnetic field parallel to a laser beam in the plasma the electron temperature increases by nearly a factor of 2. Comparison with hydrodynamic modeling indicates the formation of a plasma channel suitable for guiding ultra-short pulse laser beams at conditions for GeV laser wakefield acceleration. This experiment was performed at the Jupiter Laser Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, using a 527 nm, 5-ns long, 420 J laser beam focused with a random phase plate to an intensity of 1x 10$^{15}$ W/cm$^{2}$. He gas from a 1.5 mm gas jet is ionized to produce a plasma with an initial electron density of 3x10$^{18}$ cm$^{-3}$. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was partially funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program under project tracking code 06-ERD-056.

Authors

  • Bradley Pollock

    University of California, San Diego, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, San DIego

  • Laurent Divol

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • S.H. Glenzer

    LLNL, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • John Palastro

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • James Ross

    University of California, San Diego, University of California, San DIego

  • George Tynan

    University of California, San Diego, University of California, San DIego

  • Dustin Froula

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory