Abstract
Optical-field ionized plasmas are of great interest owing to their unique properties and the fact that they suit many applications, such as the study of nuclear fusion1, generation of energetic electrons2,3,4,5 and ions6,7, X-ray emission8,9, X-ray lasers10,11,12 and extreme–UV attosecond pulse generation13. A detailed knowledge of the plasma dynamics can be critical for optimizing a given application. Here we demonstrate a method for real-time imaging of the electric-field distribution in optical-field ionized plasmas with ultrahigh temporal resolution, yielding information that is not accessible by other methods. The technique, based on electron deflectometry, yields images that reveal a positively charged core and a cloud of electrons expanding far beyond the Debye length.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded in part by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under contract SFB Transregio 6039 and by the DFG Cluster of Excellence ‘Munich Centre for Advanced Photonics’ (MAP; http://www.munich-photonics.de). M.C. is supported by a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. P.R. is supported by a scholarship from the International Max Planck Research School on Advanced Photon Science (IMPRS–APS; http://www.mpq.mpg.de/APS). S.A.T. thanks the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for a research fellowship (project FU 363/1).
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Martin Centurion and Peter Reckenthaeler contributed equally to this work.
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Centurion, M., Reckenthaeler, P., Trushin, S. et al. Picosecond electron deflectometry of optical-field ionized plasmas. Nature Photon 2, 315–318 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.77
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.77
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