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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Diffraction-limited coherent wake emission

E. Porat1,2,*, H. Yehuda1, I. Cohen1, A. Levanon1, and I. Pomerantz1

  • 1The School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel and Center for Light-Matter Interaction, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
  • 2Department of Applied Physics, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel

  • *elkanaporat@mail.tau.ac.il
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Phys. Rev. Research 3, L032059 – Published 7 September, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.L032059

Abstract

The plasma mirror is a relativistic optical element that under certain irradiation conditions generates intense attosecond extreme-ultraviolet light pulses, in a process known as coherent wake emission (CWE). CWE has been previously characterized by its high spatial divergence, originating from an intrinsic intensity-dependent phase accumulation. In this Letter, we show that the transverse variations of the plasma expansion can completely cancel the CWE intrinsic phase. Accordingly, we experimentally demonstrate nearly diffraction-limited CWE with unprecedented divergence, under 6 mrad. We validate our analytical model with particle in cell simulations. This understanding facilitates the development of plasma mirrors as applicable ultraviolet light sources.

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Phys. Rev. Research 3, L032059– Published 7 September, 2021
  • Received 9 March 2021
  • Accepted 5 August 2021
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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