Abstract
The nonlinear, relativistic dynamics that results when intense (10 18 W/cm2 and above) and ultrashort (one plasma period or shorter) laser pulse travels through a cold underdense plasma is investigated. Using a Lagrangian analysis of the plasma response, it can be demonstrated that the nonlinear wake, the collective dissipation, the nonlinear Compton losses, and the harmonic generation, are all determined by a finite set of integrated scalar quantities. This result holds for one-dimensional, short pulses of arbitrary amplitude, shape, and polarization, so that these very short intense laser pulses in a plasma can be viewed essentially as a quasiparticle characterized by a small set of global parameters.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1323-1331 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Physics of Fluids B |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1992 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Computational Mechanics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes