TRR 18:  Relativistic Laser Plasma Dynamics

• Subject Area: Physics
• Term: from 2004 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5486099

• Final Report Year: 2016

Final Report Abstract

The pace of the new developments in the area of relativistic laser plasma physics has been breath-taking with the technological breakthroughs during the last 30 years (chirped pulse amplification). Laser pulses with powers up to several petawatts and pulse durations of femtoseconds can now be produced routinely. These ultrashort, super-intense laser pulses generate energy densities higher than inside the sun and field strengths of magnitudes known only in astrophysics so far. The combination of ultra-short pulse duration and the enormous peak power achieved have opened up unique opportunities for the study of fundamental physics processes and for the development of major applications in completely new regimes. The topic of the CRC includes the generation and application of attosecond pulses and the investigation of exotic matter in the relativistic regime. In particular, novel photon and particle sources were developed and physical processes in the relativistic regime were investigated. In addition, spectacular applications are within reach. Examples include the acceleration of electrons to GeV energies within a few millimeters of plasma, acceleration of ions such that cancer therapy with lasers appears to be feasible and the generation of X-ray pulses so intense that strong-field QED effects become visible.

Publications

• A laser-plasma accelerator producing monoenergenic electron beams, Nature 431, 541 (2004)
  J. Faure, Y. Glinec, A. Pukhov, S. Kiselev, S. Gordienko, E. Lefebvre, J.P. Rousseau, F. Burgy and V. Malka
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02963)
• Dynamics of electric fields driving laser acceleration of multi-MeV protons, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 195001 (2005)
  L. Romagnani, J. Fuchs, M. Borghesi, P. Antici, P. Audebert, F. Ceccherini, T. Cowan, T. Grismayer, S. Kar, A. Macchi, P. Mora, G. Pretzler, A. Schiavi, T. Toncian and O. Willi
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.95.195001)
• Study of electron beam propagation through pre-ionized dense foam plasmas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 195001 (2005)
  R. Jung, J. Osterholz, K. öwenbrück, S. Kiselev, G. Pretzler, A. Pukhov, O. Willi, S. Kar, M. Borghesi, W. Nazarov, S. Karsch, R. Clarke and D. Neely
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.94.195001)
• Generation of Quasimonoenergetic Electron Bunches with 80-fs Laser Pulses, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 105004 (2006)
  B. Hidding, K.U. Amthor, B. Liesfeld, H. Schwoerer, S. Karsch, M. Geissler, L. Veisz, K. Schmid, J.G. Gallacher, S.P. Jamison, D. Jaroszynski, G. Pretzler and R. Sauerbrey
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.105004)
• Laser-driven proton scaling laws and new paths towards energy increase, Nature Phys. 2, 48 (2006)
  J. Fuchs, P. Antici, E. d’Humières, E. Lefebvre, M. Borghesi, E. Brambrink, C.A. Cecchetti, M. Kaluza, V. Malka, M. Manclossi, S. Meyroneinc, P. Mora, J. Schreiber, T. Toncian, H. Pepin and P. Audebert
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys199)
• Laser-plasma acceleration of quasi-monoenergetic protons from microstructured targets, Nature 439, 445-448 (2006)
  H. Schwoerer, S. Pfotenhauer, O. J¨ackel, K.-U. Amthor, B. Liesfeld, W. Ziegler, R. Sauerbrey, K. Ledingham and T. Esirkepov
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04492)
• Quasimonoenergetic Deuteron Bursts Produced by Ultraintense Laser Pulses, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 145006 (2006)
  S. Ter-Avetisyan, M. Schnürer, P. V. Nickles, M. Kalashnikov, E. Risse, T. Sokollik, W. Sandner, A. Andreev, and V. Tikhonchuk
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.145006)
• Thomson-Backscattered X-Rays From Laser-Accelerated Electrons, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 014802 (2006)
  H. Schwoerer, B. Liesfeld, H.-P. Schlenvoigt, K.-U. Amthor and R. Sauerbrey
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.014802)
• Ultrafast laser driven micro-lens to focus MeV proton, Science 312, 410 (2006)
  T. Toncian, M. Borghesi, J. Fuchs, E. d’Humieres, P. Antici, P. Audebert, E. Brambrink, C. A. Cecchetti, A. Pipahl, L. Romagnani and O. Willi
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1124412)
• Generation of intense continuum extreme-ultraviolet radiation by many-cycle laser fields, Nature Phys. 3, 846 (2007)
  P. Tzallas, E. Skantzakis, C. Kalpouzos, E. P. Benis, G. D. Tsakiris and D. Charalambidis
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys747)
• A compact sychrotron radiation source driven by a laser plasma wakefield accelerator, Nature Phys. 4, 130 (2008)
  H.-P. Schlenvoigt, K. Haupt, A. Debus, F. Budde, O. Jäckel, S. Pfotenhauer, H. Schwoerer, E. Rohwer, J. Gallacher, E. Brunetti, R. Shanks, S. Wiggins and D. Jaroszynski
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys811)
• Attosecond phase locking of harmonics emitted from laser-produced plasmas, Nature Phys. 5, 124 (2009)
  Y. Nomura, R. Hörlein, P. Tzallas, B. Dromey, S. Rykovanov, Zs. Major, J. Osterhoff, S. Karsch, L. Veisz, M. Zepf, D. Charalambidis, F. Krausz and G. D. Tsakiris
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1155)
• Directional laser-driven ion acceleration from microspheres, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 135003 (2009)
  T. Sokollik, M. Schnuerer, S. Steinke, P.V. Nickles, W. Sandner, M. Amin, T. Toncian, O. Willi and A.A. Andreev
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.103.135003)
• Few-Cycle Laser-Driven Electron Acceleration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 124801 (2009)
  K. Schmid, L. Veisz, F. Tavella, S. Benavides, R. Tautz, D. Herrmann, A. Buck, B. Hidding, A. Marcinkevicius, U. Schramm, M. Geissler, J. Meyer-Ter-Vehn, D. Habs and F. Krausz
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.102.124801)
• Laser-Driven Shock Acceleration of Ion Beams from Spherical Mass-Limited Targets, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 095022 (2009)
  A. Henig, D. Kiefer, M. Geissler, S.G. Rykovanov, R. Ramis, R. H¨orlein, J. Osterhoff, Z. Major, L. Veisz, S. Karsch, F. Krausz, D. Habs and J. Schreiber
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.102.095002)
• Laser-driven soft x-ray undulator source, Nature Phys. 5, 826 (2009)
  M. Fuchs, R. Weingartner, A. Popp, Zs. Major, S. Becker, J. Osterhoff, I. Cortrie, R. Hörlein, G. D. Tsakiris, U. Schramm, T. P. Rowlands-Rees, S. M. Hooker, D. Habs, F. Krausz, S. Karsch and F. Grüner
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1404)
• Momentum signatures for Schwinger pair production in short laser pulses with sub-cycle structure, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 150404 (2009)
  F. Hebenstreit, R. Alkofer, G. V. Dunne and H. Gies
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.102.150404)
• Radiation-Pressure Acceleration of Ion Beams Driven by Circularly Polarized Laser Pulses, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 245003 (2009)
  A. Henig, S. Steinke, M. Schnürer, T. Sokollik, R. Hörlein, D. Kiefer, D. Jung, J. Schreiber, B.M. Hegelich, X.Q. Yan, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, T. Tajima, P.V. Nickles, W. Sandner and D. Habs
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.103.245003)
• Controlling the spacing of attosecond pulse trains from relativistic surface plasmas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 185002 (2011)
  M. Behmke, D. a.d. Brügge, C. Rödel, M. Cerchez, D. Hemmers, M. Heyer, O. Jäckel, M. Kübel, G. G. Paulus, G. Pretzler, A. Pukhov, M. Toncian, T. Toncian and O. Willi
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.185002)
• Real-time observation of laser-driven electron acceleration, Nature Phys. 7, 543 (2011)
  A. Buck, M. Nicolai, K. Schmid, C. M. S. Sears, A. S¨avert, J. Mikhailova, F. Krausz, M. C. Kaluza and L. Veisz
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1942)
• Ultrahigh-contrast few-cycle pulses for multipetawatt-class laser technology, Opt. Lett. 36, 3145 (2011)
  J. M. Mikhailova, A. Buck, A. Borot, K. Schmid, C. M. S. Sears, G. D. Tsakiris, F. Krausz, and L. Veisz
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1364/ol.36.003145)
• Characterizing the electron-beam source size from a laser-plasma electron accelerator with betatron radiation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 075001 (2012)
  M. Schnell, A. S¨avert, B. Landgraf, M. Reuter, M. Nicolai, O. J¨ackel, C. Peth, T. Thiele, O. Jansen, A. Pukhov, O. Willi, M. C. Kaluza and C. Spielmann
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.108.075001)
• Few-cycle driven relativistically oscillating plasma mirrors: a source of intense isolated attosecond pulses, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 235003 (2012)
  P. Heissler, R. Hörlein, J. M. Mikhailova, L. Waldecker, P. Tzallas, A. Buck, K. Schmid, C. M. S. Sears, F. Krausz, L. Veisz, M. Zepf, and G. D. Tsakiris
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.108.235003)
• Magnetically amplified tunneling of the 3rd kind as a probe of minicharged particles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 131802 (2012)
  B. Döbrich, H. Gies, N. Neitz and F. Karbstein
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.109.131802)
• Generation and the spectral composition control of laser driven higher harmonics from grating targets, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 065003 (2013)
  M. Cerchez, A. L. Giesecke, C. Peth, M. Toncian, B. Albertazzi, J. Fuchs, O. Willi and T. Toncian
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.110.065003)
• High-precision x-ray polarimetry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 254801 (2013)
  B. Marx, K. S. Schulze, I. Uschmann, T. Kämpfer, R. Lötzsch, O. Wehrhan, W. Wagner, C. Detlefs, T. Roth, J. Härtwig, E. Förster, T. Stöhlker, and G. G. Paulus
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.110.254801)
• Optical control of hard X-ray polarization by electron injection in a laser wakefield accelerator, Nature Comm. 4, 2421 (2013)
  M. Schnell, A. Sävert, I. Uschmann, M. Reuter, M. Nicolai, T. Kämpfer, B. Landgraf, O. Jäckel, O. Jansen, A. Pukhov, M.C. Kaluza and C. Spielmann
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3421)
• Shock-Front Injector for High-Quality Laser-Plasma Acceleration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 185006 (2013)
  A. Buck, J. Wenz, J. Xu, K. Khrennikov, K. Schmid, M. Heigoldt, J.M. Mikhailova, M. Geissler, B. Shen, F. Krausz, S. Karsch, and L. Veisz
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.110.185006)
• Parametric amplification of attosecond pulse trains at 11 nm, Scientific Reports 4, 7356 (2014)
  J. Seres, E. Seres, B. Landgraf, B. Ecker, B. Aurand, A. Hoffmann, G. Winkler, S. Namba, T. Kühl and C. Spielmann
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04254)
• Radiation-reaction trapping of electrons in extreme laser fields, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 145003 (2014)
  L. L. Ji, A. Pukhov, I. Y. Kostyukov, B. F. Shen and K. Akli
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.112.145003)
• Direct observation of the injection dynamics of a laser wakefield accelerator using few-femtosecond shadowgraphy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 055002 (2015)
  A. Sävert, S.P.D. Mangles, M. Schnell, E. Siminos, J. M. Cole, M. Leier, M. Reuter, M.B. Schwab, M. M¨oller, K. Poder, O. J¨ackel, G. G. Paulus, C. Spielmann, S. Skupin, Z. Najmudin and M. C. Kaluza
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.055002)
• Electron rephasing in a Laser-Wakefield Accelerator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 155002 (2015)
  E. Guillaume, A. Döpp, C. Thaury, K. Ta Phuoc, A. Lifschitz, J.-P. Goddet, A. Tafzi, D. Douillet, G. Rey, S.-W. Chou, L. Veisz, and V. Malka
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.155002)
• Noncollinear Polarization Gating of Attosecond Pulse Trains in the Relativistic Regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 193903 (2015)
  M. Yeung, J. Bierbach, E. Eckner, S. Rykovanov, S. Kuschel, A. S¨avert, M. F¨orster, C. R¨odel, G. G. Paulus, S. Cousens, M. Coughlan, B. Dromey and M. Zepf
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.193903)
• Quantitative X-ray phase-contrast microtomography from a compact laser-driven betatron source, Nature Comm. 6, 7568 (2015)
  J. Wenz, S. Schleede, K. Khrennikov, M. Bech, P. Thibault, M. Heigoldt, F. Pfeiffer and S. Karsch
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8568)
• Tunable All-Optical Quasi mono-chromatic Thomson X-Ray Source in the Nonlinear Regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 195003 (2015)
  K. Khrennikov, J. Wenz, A. Buck, J. Xu, M. Heigoldt, L. Veisz, and S. Karsch
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.114.195003)
• Bright high-order harmonic generation with controllable polarization from a relativistic plasma mirror, Nature Comm. 7, 12515 (2016)
  Zi-Yu Chen and A. Pukhov
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12515)
• Bright X-Ray Source from a Laser- Driven Microplasma Waveguide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 115001 (2016)
  Longqing Yi, Alexander Pukhov, Phuc Luu-Thanh and Baifei Shen
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.116.115001)
• Guided post-acceleration of laser driven ions by a miniature modular structure, Nature Comm. 7, 10792 (2016)
  Satyabrata Kar, Hamad Ahmed, Rajendra Prasad, Mirela Cerchez, Stephanie Brauckmann, Bastian Aurand, Giada Cantono, Prokopis Hadjisolomou, Ciaran L.S. Lewis, Andrea Macchi, Gagik Nersisyan, Alexander Paul L. Robinson, Anna M. Schroer, Marco Swantusch, Matt Zepf, Oswald Willi and Marco Borghesi
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10792)
• Optimizing laser-driven proton acceleration from overdense targets, Scientific Reports 6, 29402 (2016)
  A. Stockem Novo, M. C. Kaluza, R. A. Fonseca, and L. O. Silva
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/srep29402)
• Transient plasma photonic crystals for high-power lasers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 225002 (2016)
  G. Lehmann and K.H. Spatschek
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.116.225002)