Laser-Driven Ultrafast Field Propagation on Solid Surfaces

  • Kevin Quinn
  • , P.A. Wilson
  • , Carlo Cecchetti
  • , Bhuvanesh Ramakrishna
  • , Lorenzo Romagnani
  • , Gianluca Sarri
  • , L. Lancia
  • , J. Fuchs
  • , C.A. Pipahl
  • , T. Toncian
  • , O. Willi
  • , R.J. Clarke
  • , D. Neely
  • , M. Notley
  • , P. Gallegos
  • , D.C. Carroll
  • , M.N. Quinn
  • , X.H. Yuan
  • , P. McKenna
  • , T. Lyseikina
  • A. Macchi, Marco Borghesi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

111 Citations (Scopus)
438 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The interaction of a 3x10(19) W/cm(2) laser pulse with a metallic wire has been investigated using proton radiography. The pulse is observed to drive the propagation of a highly transient field along the wire at the speed of light. Within a temporal window of 20 ps, the current driven by this field rises to its peak magnitude similar to 10(4) A before decaying to below measurable levels. Supported by particle-in-cell simulation results and simple theoretical reasoning, the transient field measured is interpreted as a charge-neutralizing disturbance propagated away from the interaction region as a result of the permanent loss of a small fraction of the laser-accelerated hot electron population to vacuum.
Original languageEnglish
Article number194801
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume102
Issue number19
Early online date14 May 2009
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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