Stimulated Raman side scattering in laser wakefield acceleration.
Stimulated Raman side scattering of an ultrashort high power laser pulse is studied in experiments on laser wakefield acceleration. Experiments and simulations reveal that stimulated Raman side scattering occurs at the beginning of the interaction, that it contributes to the evolution of the pulse prior to wakefield formation, and also that it affects the quality of electron beams generated. The relativistic shift of the plasma frequency is measured.
Matsuoka
T
T
Center for Ultrafast Optical Science and FOCUS Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 USA.
McGuffey
C
C
Cummings
P G
PG
Horovitz
Y
Y
Dollar
F
F
Chvykov
V
V
Kalintchenko
G
G
Rousseau
P
P
Yanovsky
V
V
Bulanov
S S
SS
Thomas
A G R
AG
Maksimchuk
A
A
Krushelnick
K
K