Laser pulse reflection by anisotropic plasma

The effect of anomalous amplification of test laser pulse reflected by a nonequilibrium plasma formed under atom ionization by a strong pulse of circularly polarized wave is described. It is shown that the gain in radiation intensity may reach ten orders of magnitude. The most effective amplification takes place for frequencies comparable with the Weibel instability growth rate. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.