title: Scaling high-order harmonic generation from laser-solid interactions to ultrahigh intensity.
abstract: Coherent x-ray beams with a subfemtosecond (<10(-15)  s) pulse duration will enable measurements of fundamental atomic processes in a completely new regime. High-order harmonic generation (HOHG) using short pulse (<100  fs) infrared lasers focused to intensities surpassing 10(18)  W cm(-2) onto a solid density plasma is a promising means of generating such short pulses. Critical to the relativistic oscillating mirror mechanism is the steepness of the plasma density gradient at the reflection point, characterized by a scale length, which can strongly influence the harmonic generation mechanism. It is shown that for intensities in excess of 10(21)  W cm(-2) an optimum density ramp scale length exists that balances an increase in efficiency with a growth of parametric plasma wave instabilities. We show that for these higher intensities the optimal scale length is c/ω0, for which a variety of HOHG properties are optimized, including total conversion efficiency, HOHG divergence, and their power law scaling. Particle-in-cell simulations show striking evidence of the HOHG loss mechanism through parametric instabilities and relativistic self-phase modulation, which affect the produced spectra and conversion efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dollar
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chvykov
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willingale
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yanovsky
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zulick
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maksimchuk
authors.forename: A G R
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krushelnick