Self-Channeling of Relativistic Laser Pulses in Large-Scale Underdense Plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates how intense relativistic laser pulses self-focus and form channels in underdense plasmas through 2D PIC simulations, revealing stability conditions, electron acceleration mechanisms, and filament break-up phenomena.

Contribution

It provides analytical solutions for stationary channels and characterizes various regimes of self-focusing, including instabilities and filamentation, in underdense plasma laser interactions.

Findings

Stable channels can accelerate electrons via surface waves.

Relativistic filaments are unstable to transverse modulations.

Different regimes of self-focusing and filamentation are identified.

Abstract

Relativistic self-focusing and channeling of intense laser pulses have been studied in underdense plasma using 2D PIC simulations, for different laser powers and plasma densities. Analytical solutions for the stationary evacuated channels have been recovered in PIC simulations. It is shown that otherwise stable channels can accelerate electrons due to surface waves on the walls of the channels. Relativistic filaments with finite electron density are unstable to transverse modulations which lead in the nonlinear stage to the break-up of laser pulses into independent filaments. Different regimes of relativistic self-focusing and channeling, including electron heating, transverse instability and break-up of the filaments have been discussed and characterized using plasma density and laser power.