Relativistic electron generation in interactions of a 30 TW laser pulse with a thin foil target.

Energy and angular distributions of the fast outgoing electron beam induced by the interaction of a 1 J, 30 fs, 2 x 10(19) W/cm(2), 10 Hz laser with a thin foil target are characterized by electron energy spectroscopy and photonuclear reactions. We have investigated the effect of the target thickness and the intensity contrast ratio level on the electron production. Using a 6-microm polyethylene target, up to 4 x 10(8) electrons with energies between 5 and 60 MeV were produced per laser pulse and converted to gamma rays by bremsstrahlung in a Ta secondary target.

Electron acceleration by a wake field forced by an intense ultrashort laser pulse.

Plasmas are an attractive medium for the next generation of particle accelerators because they can support electric fields greater than several hundred gigavolts per meter. These accelerating fields are generated by relativistic plasma waves-space-charge oscillations-that can be excited when a high-intensity laser propagates through a plasma. Large currents of background electrons can then be trapped and subsequently accelerated by these relativistic waves.

Low-energy measurement of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B cross section.

We have measured the cross section of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B reaction for E(c.m.) = 185.