Probe transit effect in interferometry of fast moving samples.
When a fast moving transparent sample (with a speed close to c) is probed with a laser pulse, some artifacts can occur from data analysis. These artifacts are connected to the transit time of the probe through the sample and can mask the presence of a steep gradient of refractive index in the sample. We study this problem in the case of interferometry. In fact, the problem can affect the femtosecond interferometry of the media under ultrafast ionization by a propagating laser pulse. Two algorithms are introduced: the first based on the phase difference and the second based on visibility. Both algorithms allow for the reconstruction, under suitable assumptions, of an approximated refractive index profile from the distorted fringes.
Galimberti
Marco
M
Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, CNR, Pisa, Italy. m.galimberti@ipcf.cnr.it