Laser pulse guiding and electron acceleration in the ablative capillary discharge plasma

The results of experiments are presented for the laser electron acceleration in the ablative capillary discharge plasma. The plasma channel is formed by the discharge inside the ablative capillary. The intense short laser pulse is guided over a 4 cm length. The generated relativistic electrons show both the quasimonoenergetic and quasi-Maxwellian energy spectra, depending on laser and plasma parameters. The analysis of the inner walls of the capillaries that underwent several tens of shots shows that the wall deformation and blistering resulted from the discharge and laser pulse effects. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3212589]