The York Research Database

The magnetic fields created in ultra-intense laser plasma interactions and the effect that they have on the electron distribution and transport through the plasma is a fundamental question which has so far gone unanswered. Little is known of the magnetic fields generated in plasmas beyond the critical density layer, where the primary method of energy transport is via fast electrons. However, probing this energy deposition is extremely difficult due to the solid densities of the plasma generated in these ultra-intense interactions. Here, we show that anisotropy in electron beam distribution can be studied combining optical and x-ray spectroscopic measurements.