title: Pre-plasma formation in experiments using petawatt lasers.
abstract: We used time-resolved shadowgraphy to characterize the pre-plasma formation in solid-target interaction experiments with micrometer-scale accuracy. We performed quantitative measurements of the plasma density for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) levels ranging from 2 · 10(-7) to 10(-10) backed with 2-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. We find that ASE levels above 10(-9) are able to create a significant pre-plasma plume that features a plasma canal driving a self-focusing of the laser beam. For ASE levels of 10(-10), no ASE pre-plasma could be detected.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bedacht
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortner
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tauschwitz
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zielbauer
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bagnoud
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004560:Electricity; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007834:Lasers; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D058626:Plasma Gases