Bremsstrahlung emission and plasma characterization driven by moderately relativistic laser–plasma interactions

Relativistic laser–plasma interactions

By focusing petawatt peak power laser light to intensities up to 1021 W cm−2, highly relativistic plasmas can now be studied. The force exerted by light pulses with this extreme intensity has been used to accelerate beams of electrons and protons to energies of a million volts in distances of only microns. This acceleration gradient is a thousand times greater than in radio-frequency-based acce...

Relativistic effects in polarizational bremsstrahlung

We review the achievements of the theory of polarization bremsstrahlung of relativistic particles, including the case when both colliders have internal structure. The main features which the relativistic effects bring into the problem are discussed and illustrated by the results of numerical calculations.

Microengineering Laser Plasma Interactions at Relativistic Intensities.

We report on the first successful proof-of-principle experiment to manipulate laser-matter interactions on microscales using highly ordered Si microwire arrays. The interaction of a high-contrast short-pulse laser with a flat target via periodic Si microwires yields a substantial enhancement in both the total and cutoff energies of the produced electron beam. The self-generated electric and mag...

Modulation of harmonic emission spectra in relativistic laser interactions with overdense plasma

Polarizational bremsstrahlung in non-relativistic collisions

We review the developments made during the last decade in the theory of polarization bremsstrahlung in the non-relativistic domain. A literature survey covering the latest history of the phenomenon is given. The main features which distinguish the polarization bremsstrahlung from other mechanisms of radiation are discussed and illustrated by the results of numerical calculations.