title: Relativistic Plasma Polarizer: Impact of Temperature Anisotropy on Relativistic Transparency.
abstract: 3D particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the enhanced transparency of a relativistically hot plasma is sensitive to how the energy is partitioned between different degrees of freedom. For an anisotropic electron distribution, propagation characteristics, like the critical density, will depend on the polarization of the electromagnetic wave. Despite the onset of the Weibel instability in such plasmas, the anisotropy can persist long enough to affect laser propagation. This plasma can then function as a polarizer or a wave plate to dramatically alter the pulse polarization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.|Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.|Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Chinmoy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bhattacharjee
authors.affiliation: Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Alexey V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Arefiev
authors.affiliation: Center for High Energy Density Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Toma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toncian
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.|Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hazeltine
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.|Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA.|Shiv Nadar University, NH91, Tehsil Dadri, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201 314, India.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mahajan