Dual-channel polarization holography: a technique for recording two complex amplitude components of a vector wave.

In this Letter, the principle of polarization holography for recording an arbitrary vector wave on a thin polarization-sensitive recording medium is proposed. It is analytically shown that the complex amplitudes of p- and s-polarization components are simultaneously recorded and independently reconstructed by using an s-polarized reference beam. The characteristics are experimentally verified.

Efficient terahertz emission by mid-infrared laser pulses from gas targets.

It is shown by simulations that terahertz (THz) radiation can be produced more efficiently by a mid-infrared laser pulse from a gas target. The THz amplitude is enhanced by 35 times as the laser wavelength increases from 1 µm to 4 µm; a 4 µm laser at 10(15) W cm(-2) produces 5 MV/cm THz radiation. The THz amplitude changes oscillatingly with increasing laser intensity for a given laser wavelength. In addition, the laser intensity threshold for the THz emission is lower for a longer laser wavelength.

Simultaneous two-wavelength Doppler phase-shifting digital holography.

This paper presents a method based on the use of an image sensor for obtaining the complex amplitudes of beams diffracted from an object at two different wavelengths. The complex amplitude for each wavelength is extracted by the Doppler phase-shifting method. The principle underlying the proposed method is experimentally verified by using the method with two lasers having different wavelengths to measure the surface shape of a concave mirror.

Dynamic mitigation of the tearing mode instability in a collisionless current sheet.

Dynamic mitigation for the tearing mode instability in the current sheet in collisionless plasmas is demonstrated by applying a wobbling electron current beam. The initial small amplitude modulations imposed on the current sheet induce the electric current filamentation and the reconnection of the magnetic field lines. When the wobbling or oscillatory motion is added from the electron beam having a form of a thin layer moving along the current sheet, the perturbation phase is mixed and consequently the instability growth is saturated remarkably, like in the case of the feed-forward control.

Plasma instability inside solenoid with laser ion source.

Using a solenoid with a laser ion source can suppress divergence of the expanding plasma; however, it has been found that the plasma becomes unstable in a certain magnetic field region. In the previous research, instability of the plasma after the solenoid was found. In this study, we investigated how the plasma instability changes inside the solenoid. A Faraday cup was placed in the solenoid, and the unstable magnetic field range was investigated. This experiment was conducted while changing the Faraday cup position from the inlet to the outlet of the solenoid. By increasing the magnetic field strength, the Faraday cup position indicating a condition triggering instability moved toward upstream in the solenoid. In addition, the instability is gradually mitigated by transporting the laser ablation plasma through the rest of the solenoid. The detailed good working range of the solenoid for the Au1+ beam was also shown.

Origin of protons accelerated by an intense laser and the dependence of their energy on the plasma density.

We study the high-energy (1-4 MeV) proton production from a slab plasma irradiated by a ultrashort high-power laser. In our 2.5-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, a p-polarized laser beam of 1.6 x 10(19) W/cm(2), 300 fs, lambda(L)=1.053 microm, illuminates a slab plasma normally; the slab plasma consists of a hydrogen plasma, and the target plasma thickness and the laser spot size are 2.5lambda(L) and 5lambda(L), respectively. The simulation results show that an emitted proton energy depends on the slab plasma density, and three kinds of high-energy proton beams are generated at the target plasma surfaces: one kind of the proton beams is produced at the laser-illuminated target surface and accelerated to the same laser-incident side. The second is generated at the target surface opposite to the laser-illuminated target surface and is accelerated outward on the same side. The third is generated at the laser-illuminated target surface and accelerated to the opposite side while passing through the target plasma. The simulations also show a mechanism of proton accelerations. In an overdense plasma, laser energy goes to energies of hot electrons and magnetic fields in part; the electrons oscillate around the slab plasma so that a static electric field is generated and consequently protons are extracted. The magnetic field generated in the slab plasma exists longer and heats up the plasma electrons to sustain the static electric field even after the laser termination.

Laser ion acceleration toward future ion beam cancer therapy - Numerical simulation study -.

BACKGROUND: Ion beam has been used in cancer treatment, and has a unique preferable feature to deposit its main energy inside a human body so that cancer cell could be killed by the ion beam. However, conventional ion accelerator tends to be huge in its size and its cost. In this paper a future intense-laser ion accelerator is proposed to make the ion accelerator compact. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An intense femtosecond pulsed laser was employed to accelerate ions. The issues in the laser ion accelerator include the energy efficiency from the laser to the ions, the ion beam collimation, the ion energy spectrum control, the ion beam bunching and the ion particle energy control. In the study particle computer simulations were performed to solve the issues, and each component was designed to control the ion beam quality. RESULTS: When an intense laser illuminates a target, electrons in the target are accelerated and leave from the target; temporarily a strong electric field is formed between the high-energy electrons and the target ions, and the target ions are accelerated. The energy efficiency from the laser to ions was improved by using a solid target with a fine sub-wavelength structure or by a near-critical density gas plasma. The ion beam collimation was realized by holes behind the solid target. The control of the ion energy spectrum and the ion particle energy, and the ion beam bunching were successfully realized by a multi-stage laser-target interaction. CONCLUSIONS: The present study proposed a novel concept for a future compact laser ion accelerator, based on each component study required to control the ion beam quality and parameters.