La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento
Year 2012 - Issue 12 - December
Physics of high-intensity laser-plasma interactions
Authors: P. Gibbon
DOI: 10.1393/ncr/i2012-10083-8
pp. 607-644
Published online 24 October 2012
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Abstract: The following lecture notes offer a short, elementary introduction to the field of high-intensity laser interactions with matter. The material starts with basic phenomena such as ionization, plasma characterization and thresholds for non-linear behaviour. In the latter sections, topics relevant to laser-based particle acceleration are covered in detail, including wave propagation in underdense plasmas and fast electron heating in overdense (solid) plasmas. The notes are concluded with a short summary of plasma simulation techniques, including a work-through tutorial using a particle-in-cell code.