Enhanced coherent transition radiation from midinfrared-laser-driven microplasmas.

We present a particle-in-cell (PIC) analysis of terahertz (THz) radiation by ultrafast plasma currents driven by relativistic-intensity laser pulses. We show that, while the I0 [Formula: see text] product of the laser intensity I0 and the laser wavelength λ0 plays the key role in the energy scaling of strong-field laser-plasma THz generation, the THz output energy, WTHz, does not follow the I0 [Formula: see text] scaling. Its behavior as a function of I0 and λ0 is instead much more complex. Our two- and three-dimensional PIC analysis shows that, for moderate, subrelativistic and weakly relativistic fields, WTHz(I0 [Formula: see text]) can be approximated as (I0λ02)α, with a suitable exponent α, as a clear signature of vacuum electron acceleration as a predominant physical mechanism whereby the energy of the laser driver is transferred to THz radiation. For strongly relativistic laser fields, on the other hand, WTHz(I0 [Formula: see text]) closely follows the scaling dictated by the relativistic electron laser ponderomotive potential [Formula: see text], converging to WTHz ∝ [Formula: see text] for very high I0, thus indicating the decisive role of relativistic ponderomotive charge acceleration as a mechanism behind laser-to-THz energy conversion. Analysis of the electron distribution function shows that the temperature Te of hot laser-driven electrons bouncing back and forth between the plasma boundaries displays the same behavior as a function of I0 and λ0, altering its scaling from (I0λ02)α to that of [Formula: see text], converging to WTHz ∝ [Formula: see text] for very high I0. These findings provide a clear physical picture of THz generation in relativistic and subrelativistic laser plasmas, suggesting the THz yield WTHz resolved as a function of I0 and λ0 as a meaningful measurable that can serve as a probe for the temperature Te of hot electrons in a vast class of laser-plasma interactions. Specifically, the α exponent of the best (I0λ02)α fit of the THz yield suggests a meaningful probe that can help identify the dominant physical mechanisms whereby the energy of the laser field is converted to the energy of plasma electrons.

Chirp-controlled high-harmonic and attosecond-pulse generation via coherent-wake plasma emission driven by mid-infrared laser pulses.

Coherent-wake plasma emission induced by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses on a solid target is shown to give rise to high-brightness, high-order harmonic radiation, offering a promising source of attosecond pulses and a probe for ultrafast subrelativistic plasma dynamics. With 80-fs, 0.2-TW pulses of 3.9-µm radiation used as a driver, optical harmonics up to the 34th order are detected, with their spectra stretching from the mid-infrared region to the extreme ultraviolet region. The harmonic spectrum is found to be highly sensitive to the chirp of the driver. Particle-in-cell analysis of this effect suggests, in agreement with the generic scenario of coherent-wake emission, that optical harmonics are radiated as trains of extremely short, attosecond ultraviolet pulses with a pulse-to-pulse interval varying over the pulse train. A positive chirp of the driver pulse can partially compensate for this variation in the interpulse separation, allowing harmonics of the highest orders to be generated in the plasma emission spectrum.