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Nondrifting relativistic electromagnetic solitons in plasmas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2004

M. LONTANO
Affiliation:
Istituto di Fisica del Plasma “P. Caldirola,” Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan, Italy
M. BORGHESI
Affiliation:
Department of Pure & Applied Physics, Queen's University, Belfast, United Kingdom
S.V. BULANOV
Affiliation:
General Physics Institute, Russia Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Advanced Photon Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kyoto-fu, Japan
T.Z. ESIRKEPOV
Affiliation:
Advanced Photon Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kyoto-fu, Japan
D. FARINA
Affiliation:
Istituto di Fisica del Plasma “P. Caldirola,” Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan, Italy
N. NAUMOVA
Affiliation:
Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
K. NISHIHARA
Affiliation:
Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Japan
M. PASSONI
Affiliation:
Istituto di Fisica del Plasma “P. Caldirola,” Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan, Italy Dipartimento di Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
F. PEGORARO
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Universita' di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
H. RUHL
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, California
A.S. SAKHAROV
Affiliation:
General Physics Institute, Russia Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
O. WILLI
Affiliation:
Institut für Laser- und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany

Abstract

Low-frequency, relativistic, subcycle solitary waves are found in two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical simulations, as a result of the interaction of ultrashort, high-intensity laser pulses with plasmas. Moreover, nondrifting, subcycle relativistic electromagnetic solitons have been obtained as solutions of the hydrodynamic equations for an electron–ion warm plasma, by assuming the quasi-neutrality character of the plasma response. In addition, the formation of long-living macroscopic soliton-like structures has been experimentally observed by means of the proton imaging diagnostics. Several common features result from these investigations, as, for example, the quasi-neutral plasma response to the soliton radiation, in the long-term evolution of the system, which leads to the almost complete expulsion of the plasma from the region where the electromagnetic radiation is concentrated, even at subrelativistic field intensity. The results of the theoretical investigations are reviewed with special attention to these similarities.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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References

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