Measurement and visualization of electron collision times during strong field laser plasma interactions in solids*

Under strong field laser irradiation, plasma can be created in a material, which alters the material's dielectric constant and thus changes its optical properties. Plasma densities as well as electron collision times in plasma are critical factors in determining the dielectric constant. Therefore, measurements of the electron collision time are important for understanding laser-plasma interactions [1]. We employ state-of-the-art time-resolved visualization methods such as frequency-domain interferometry (FDI) [2] and single-shot frequency-domain holography (FDH) [3-5] techniques to measure the electron collision time in thin glass samples during strong field laser plasma interactions. In particular, we investigate correlation between the electron collision time and the laser intensity.

 

[1] G. C. Nagar, D. Dempsey, and B. Shim, Communications Physics 4, 96 (2021). [2] E. Tokunaga, A. Terasaki, and T. Kobayashi, Opt. Lett. 17, 1131-1133 (1992). [3] S. P. Le Blanc et al. Opt. Lett. 56, 764-766 (2000). [4] D. Dempsey et al. Opt. Lett. 45, 1252-1255 (2020). [5] D. Dempsey et al. Opt. Commun. 545, 129669 (2023)