Operating regime for a backward Raman laser amplifier in preformed plasma

A critical issue in the generation of ultraintense, ultrashort laser pulses by backward Raman scattering in plasma is the stability of the pumping pulse to premature backscatter from thermal fluctuations in the preformed plasma. Malkin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1208 (2000)] demonstrated that density gradients may be used to detune the Raman resonance in such a way that backscatter of the pump from thermal noise can be stabilized while useful Raman amplification persists. Here plasma conditions for which the pump is stable to thermal Raman backscatter in a homogeneous plasma and the density gradients necessary to stabilize the pump for other plasma conditions are quantified. Other ancillary constraints on a Raman amplifier are also considered to determine a specific region in the T-e-n(e) plane where Raman amplification is feasible. By determining an operability region, the degree of uncertainty in density or temperature tolerable for an experimental Raman amplifier is thus also identified. The fluid code FD [R. L. Berger et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 4337 (1998)], which includes the effects of thermal fluctuations, is used to verify these analytic estimates. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.