Abstract
Because the electrostatic fields present in plasma waves can exceed those achievable in conventional accelerators and approach atomic scale values (Ea ~ 500 GV/m), plasma based accelerators have received considerable attention as compact sources of high-energy electron pulses [1]. Although stimulated Raman scattering [2] and terahertz radiation at the plasma frequency ωp [3] provide spatially averaged optical signatures of the plasma wave, new diagnostic techniques are required to map the the temporal and spatial structure of the plasma wave directly since such information is vital for addressing fundamental issues of wakefield generation and propagation. In this paper, we report femtosecond time resolved measurements of the longitudinal and radial structure of laser wakefield oscillations using an all optical technique known as ’photon acceleration’ [4].
© 1996 Optical Society of America
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