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Self-shaping of a relativistic elliptically Gaussian laser beam in underdense plasmas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

T. W. Huang ,
C. T. Zhou  and
X. T. He
T. W. Huang
Affiliation:
HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology and School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
C. T. Zhou*
Affiliation:
HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, People's Republic of China Science College, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, People's Republic of China
X. T. He
Affiliation:
HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, People's Republic of China
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: C. T. Zhou, Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China. E-mail: zcangtao@iapcm.ac.cn
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Abstract

Self-shaping and propagation of intense laser beams of different radial profiles in plasmas is investigated. It is shown that when a relativistic elliptically Gaussian beam propagates through an underdense plasma, its radial profile will self-organize into a circularly symmetric self-similar smooth configuration. Such self-similar propagation can be attributed to a soliton-like structure of the laser pulse. The anisotropic electron distribution results in a circular electric field that redistributes the electrons and modulates the laser pulse to a circular radial shape.

Keywords

Relativistic elliptically Gaussian beamSelf-shapingSoliton-like structureUnderdense plasmas
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 347 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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